Hapag-Lloyd splits the Gulf Caribbean service into two new slings

German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd will split its Gulf-Caribbean Service (GCS), which connects the east coast of the United States and the Gulf of Mexico with Central America and the Caribbean, into two separate loops.

Starting next month, this two-week service will be converted to a weekly service, adding two new weekly loops.

The Nordschleife (GCS) will have the following rotation:

Houston (USA) – Altamira (Mexico) – Veracruz (Mexico) – Puerto Barrios (Guatemala) – Puerto Cortes (Honduras) – Caucedo (Dominican Republic) – Kingston (Jamaica) – Houston

On this loop, Caucedo will be a transhipment option for cargo originating in Mexico, with 25 days transit time to Puerto Limon, Costa Rica and 11 days to San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The first ship to run the Nordschleife on a weekly basis will be the Maira V, which is expected to arrive in Houston on April 13th.

The second loop, South Loop (GC2), has the following rotation:

Cartagena (Colombia) – Manzanillo (Mexico) – Santo Tomas / Puerto Barrios (Guatemala) – Puerto Cortes (Honduras) – Puerto Limon (Costa Rica) – Cartagena (Colombia) – Caucedo (Dominican Republic) – San Juan (Puerto Rico) – Cartagena

Hapag-Lloyd said the first ship to operate on the weekly frequency of the southern loop will be Jonathan P, which is due to arrive in Cartagena on April 3, 2023.

“The provisional first port of call in Puerto Barrios will be confirmed at a later date,” emphasized the Hamburg container line.