CMA CGM, China Shipping and UASC will introduce its Asia Southern Red Sea Express (REX3) string, a fixed-day weekly service, providing new efficiencies starting May 8, said a company statement.

"This service is in addition to our existing Asia Northern Red Sea Express (REX2) which together will improve our port coverage to meet the growing demand and customer requirements in the Red Sea market" said CMA CGM.

The service is part of a vessel sharing agreement with United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) and China Shipping Container lines (CSCL) that leverages an expertise and provides competitive transit times between ports in Asia and Red Sea.

The New REX3 port rotation is Xiamen, Shenzhen-Yantian, Shenzhen-Shekou, Port Kelang, Djibouti, Jeddah, Port Sudan, Djibouti, Port Kelang and back to Xiamen.

"This new deployment will also benefit Red Sea exporters in minimising their transit time through the improved port coverage," said the CMA CGM statement.