MSC suspends eastbound bookings from north Europe, 'vessels fully booked'

THE Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has refused cargo bookings for three weeks on sailings from North Europe to the Far East from June 22, saying their vessels are fully booked, reports Alphaliner.

The company said that its vessels departing from North Europe were fully booked for weeks 25/26/27 of its four North Europe-Far East loops: Silk, Lion, Swan (slots on CMA CGM's FAL 3) and Condor (slots on CMA CGM's FAL 1).

Maersk Line did much the same in March, suspending eastbound Europe-Far East bookings for a month. Maersk attributed the booking cessation to the "large number of consecutive vessel cancellations following the Chinese New Year" in westbound sailings. The move resulted in void sailings from North Europe in March, which had led to a significant cargo build-up in North Europe.