CMA CGM and EUROGATE celebrate new container service in Bremerhaven

Bremen, 20 March 2006 +++ Today EUROGATE and the French shipping line CMA CGM, whose headquarters are in Marseille, are joining to celebrate dispatch of the container ship CMA CGM Jefferson at the EUROGATE Container Terminal in Bremerhaven. The CMA CGM Jefferson was the first ship in the new “Liberty Bridge” North Atlantic service to dock in Bremerhaven, where it arrived on Sunday. CMA CGM, jointly with China Shipping, gave the starting signal for this new service on 15 March 2006; the two shipping lines will run it jointly. The next CMA CGM vessel, the CMA CGM La Fayette, is expected on 10 April 2006.

“Successful collaboration with the major international shipping lines is vitally important for Bremerhaven as a port”, emphasises Bremerhaven’s Mayor, Jörg Schulz. “So we are giving a warm welcome in Bremerhaven to CMA CGM, which is the third largest shipping line in the world, and to the ships of its North Atlantic service. We are sure our terminal will satisfy the stringent requirements of this new container service at all times.”

Reinhard Peschel, Managing Director of CMA CGM (Deutschland) GmbH, says: “CMA CGM decided on Bremerhaven since it is a port which has traditional links to the USA and offers us excellent connections to the interior of Germany and to the whole of central Europe. With its feeder connections to Scandinavia and the Baltic, Bremerhaven is becoming ever more important for European cargo flows, and its short navigational approach gives it a major advantage.”

“Now we are glad to welcome the world’s third largest container line to Bremerhaven”, says Emanuel Schiffer, Chairman of the EUROGATE Group Management Board and in charge of operations, marketing and sales. “As a port, Bremerhaven offers many advantages. We are continually engaged in expanding the capacity of our facilities for our customers. EUROGATE is the only company in Europe which will be able to provide its customers with ten new berths over the next four years.”

The four ships on the North Atlantic service (two from CMA CGM and two from China Shipping) will call at Bremerhaven weekly. The route taken by the 2,250 TEU vessels will run from Le Havre via Antwerp, Rotterdam, Bremerhaven, Liverpool, New York, Baltimore and Norfolk, to Charleston. The whole journey will take 28 days.

About CMA CGM:
CMA CGM is one of the world’s three biggest container shipping lines. The company was founded by Jacques Saadé in 1978 as CMA, and it merged with CGM in 1999. With a fleet of 24 container ships, CMA CGM has 80 services running on all routes world-wide. The volume of cargo carried in 2005 was 5 million TEUs. The company also has various subsidiaries, such as ANL, Delmas, MacAndrews and Progeco. In addition CMA CGM is the joint operator of various container terminals, including terminals in Malta, Fos and Le Havre. You will find further information at www.cma-cgm.com

Contact:
CMA CGM (Deutschland) GmbH
Kathrin Langer
Manageress Marketing
Tel. +49 (0)40-23530-345  
hbg.klanger@cma-cgm.com

EUROGATE
Corinna Romke
Corporate Communication
Tel. +49 (0)421-1425-3803
corinna.romke@eurogate.de