CMA CGM will overhaul its Far East–East Coast South America network from mid-December, reshuffling its SEAS 2 and SEAS A services to add direct Brazilian port coverage and strengthen reefer links between South America and Asia.

The revised SEAS 2 loop opens with CMA CGM COBALT, departing Tianjin Xingang on 14 December. The new rotation runs: Tianjin – Qingdao – Shanghai – Ningbo – Shekou – Singapore – Rio de Janeiro – Santos – Paranaguá – Itapoá – Itajaí – Santos – Rio de Janeiro – Colombo – Singapore.

That gives shippers direct calls across northern, central and southern China plus five Brazilian ports. Connections with MERCOSUL Line will extend coverage to Brazil's northeast coast, while Singapore and Colombo provide onward connectivity to Southeast Asia, the Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent. CMA CGM said the service will run weekly departures.

For importers and exporters, the expanded Brazilian calls tighten the link between Chinese manufacturing hubs and the continent's largest consumer market. Double calls at Rio de Janeiro and Santos on the same loop let the carrier serve both northbound and southbound cargo flows without splitting capacity across separate strings.

SEAS A targets the Plata market and refrigerated cargo

The revised SEAS A service starts with CMA CGM XENON from Ningbo on 17 December. Its rotation: Ningbo – Shanghai – Shekou – Singapore – Santos – Navegantes – Montevideo – Buenos Aires – Navegantes – Santos – Coega – Singapore.

The Coega call, which would add a South African touchpoint to the loop, remains subject to confirmation of the berthing window.

SEAS A gives shippers direct access to Argentina and Uruguay and serves cargo tied to the wider Plata market. In Brazil, the service makes double calls at Santos and Navegantes to support both import and export flows.

The loop also strengthens CMA CGM's reefer network. It will connect refrigerated cargo from the east coast of South America with markets in Africa, the Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent and Asia — a meaningful option for protein and fruit exporters in Argentina, Uruguay and southern Brazil who rely on cold-chain capacity into Asia.

What it means for the trade

The revamp tightens CMA CGM's competitive position on a trade lane where direct port coverage, not just frequency, decides share. Shippers moving cargo between secondary Chinese origins and Brazilian ports such as Paranaguá, Itapoá and Itajaí gain fewer transshipments and shorter transit times. Forwarders serving the Plata region get a single-loop product reaching Montevideo and Buenos Aires with Asia connectivity through Singapore.

Colombo and Singapore functioning as relay points also opens the Far East–South America trade to feeder connections across the Indian Subcontinent and Middle East, widening the addressable cargo base beyond the two endpoint regions.

The revised rotations form part of CMA CGM's broader restructuring of its Far East–East Coast South America network, all scheduled to take effect in mid-December, with SEAS 2's first sailing on 14 December and SEAS A's on 17 December.