French containership giant CMA CGM Group said today it will expand its trans-Atlantic network effective the end of May, when it begins calling at the Port of Baltimore and adds a rotation linking nine ports in the U.S. and northern Europe.

Baltimore, which CMA CGM has traditionally served through intermodal connections, will get its first direct vessel call in the ship line's history. The U.S. port will be added to the liner "Liberty Solo" service, which will now connect seven U.S. and European ports using four vessels, each with a 1,800-2,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) capacity, CMA CGM said.

The new "Vespucci" service, supported by 15 4,500-TEU vessels, will connect the ports of Antwerp; Rotterdam; Bremerhaven; Le Havre; Southampton; New York; Norfolk; Charleston; and Savannah. The new service will be operated in cooperation with German liner Hamburg Sud Group and United Arab Shipping Co., which is jointly owned by six Arab states in the Persian Gulf.

With these additions, CMA CGM said its North America and Northern European services will cover 15 ports of call, more than any other container line.