MSC has announced the reinstatement of its Asia ?US East Coast ?iberty?service. It will be the first full container service on that trade to serve the US port of Philadelphia.
The standalone service will have a round-the-world rotation with calls at Singapore, Shanghai, Busan ?(Panama Canal) ?Miami, Savannah, Charleston, Philadelphia and New York before returning to Singapore via the Cape of Good Hope.
MSC? new ?iberty?loop will offer a first departure from Singapore on 9 August with the 4,432 teu MSC HOUSTON V. She will be followed one week later by the 6,494 teu BF HAMBURG, while the 7,403 teu KURE has been earmarked for the third sailing. So far, only the ships for the first three sailings have been nominated.
Although announced as a reinstatement, the new ?iberty?loop will be very different from the former ?iberty?service that was operated until November 2022 by ZIM as ?IM SEA/USEC eXpress?(?SE? with Maersk (?P23? and MSC taking slots as part of a wider Vessel Sharing Agreement between ZIM and 2M.
MSC has confirmed that the new ?iberty?will be a standalone service, which will provide additional capacity for the ongoing robust demand in the Asia ?North America trade.
The new call at Philadelphia is also said to be a direct response to current market demands. The transit time from Singapore to the US port will be 40 days, as the MSC HOUSTON V is scheduled to arrive at Philadelphia on 18 September.
