OPDR Launching New CAVA Service

German short sea shipping company Oldenburg-Portugiesische Dampfschiffs-Rhederei (OPDR), a subsidiary of CMA CGM, is to start on June 7 its new CAVA service that will connect the Spanish east coast with northern European ports, including Saint Petersburg. 

The new service is to link the two major Spanish ports Valencia and Cartagena to four of the main ports in northern Europe: Tilbury, Antwerp, Rotterdam, and Saint Petersburg.

OPDR said it will start the new service in Valencia, followed by Cartagena, before it proceeds to the north the following day.

The company will deploy six 1,800 TEU container vessels capable of carrying pallet-wide equipment on the service.

On May 26, OPDR announced a revised AGAX service connecting northern Europe with Morocco, the Iberian Peninsula and the Canary Islands. The service now includes the port of Rouen, providing a direct connection between northern France and Morocco.

The upgraded rotation shortens transit times from Rouen to Casablanca to four days. Three 700 TEU ships are deployed on the new AGAX service.