Starting in April 2024, Hapag-Lloyd will be enhancing its operations in the African continent, specifically by revamping its West-Europe-West-Africa (WWA) and West Africa Express (WAX) services.
Through the revamped WWA and WAX services, Hapag-Lloyd will be able to open new direct routes from North Europe to the port of Tema in Ghana, while both services will encompass the geographical coverage previously offered by the MWX service, which will be phased out.
The updated rotation for the WWA service will include the following ports:
- Antwerp, Belgium – Le Havre, France – Lisbon, Portugal – Tanger Med, Morocco – Tema, Ghana – Pointe Noire, Congo – Luanda, Angola – Libreville, Gabon – Antwerp
The port of Kribi in Cameroon will be served via Pointe Noire, Congo connecting to Hapag-Lloyd’s AWA service.
The first vessel sailing in the updated rotation of the WWA service will be the Liberia-flagged Dachan Bay Express with an estimated arrival in Antwerp on 22 April 2024.
According to the German ocean carrier, the rotation of WWA service will be modified to cover the citrus season in South Africa, and hence provide a direct service from Durban and Coega to North Europe, with connections to North America and South Europe via Tangier. This extension from the end of May through September is known as Citrus Connect in the South Africa trade.
The WAX service’s new rotation will cover the following ports:
- Tanger Med, Morocco – Dakar, Senegal – Apapa, Nigeria – Tincan, Nigeria – Cotonou, Benin – Abidjan, Ivory Coast – Tema, Ghana – Tanger Med
The first vessel sailing in the revised WAX service will be the Marshall-flagged Vancouver Star, estimated to arrive in Tanger Med on 21 April 2024.
Meanwhile, the port rotation of the WA1 service will continue without changes, as follows:
- Tanger Med, Morocco – Nouakchott, Mauritania – Conakry, Guinea – Freetown, Sierra Leone – Monrovia, Liberia – San Pedro, Ivory Coast – Banjul, Gambia.