The CMA CGM Med-Caribbean-NCSA-WCSA (Medcarib) service will be the first long-distance service to call at the new Colombian port of Antioquia, located in the Gulf of Urabá. The French carrier is estimated to make its inaugural call on Saturday, December 20, 2025.
“The Medcarib will be the first long-distance service to use the new facility, with an initial call by the 6,874 TEU CMA CGM Imagination on December 20. The first container terminal in the region will be served weekly by nine reefers between 6,800 and 7,377 TEU deployed on the Medcarib,” Alphaliner stated.
“Subsequently, the service will call at Algeciras, Marsaxlokk, Livorno, Genoa, Marseille, Barcelona, Valencia, Tangier Med, Fort-de-France, Pointe-à-Pitre, Caucedo, Kingston, Cartagena (Colombia), Buenaventura, Paita, Posorja, Guayaquil, Moín, /Puerto Antioquia, Cartagena (Colombia) and back to Algeciras,” it added.
The consultancy also reported that “before regularly directing the Medcarib service to Puerto Antioquia, CMA CGM successfully completed a nautical trial with the 7,377 TEU CMA CGM Fort Bourbon in the Gulf of Urabá on November 8. The vessel conducted this trial without docking at Antioquia.”
“Regarding the new terminal, the 1,691 TEU Marfret Guyane (Uraba Shuttle) is scheduled to begin operating in Antioquia at the end of November, suggesting a gradual launch with smaller vessels before receiving large container ships next month,” it expanded.
The Gulf of Urabá, typically referred to as the Port of Turbo in line schedules, is currently used by geared container ships of up to 3,800 TEU. However, these vessels do not dock at a berth but instead load and discharge via barges at anchor.
“Turbo is a typical reefer cargo port, especially for fruit exports from nearby plantations. It is expected that most of these transshipment operations will be eliminated once the new Puerto Antioquia terminal is operational,” Alphaliner pointed out.
Located approximately 300 kilometers northeast of Medellín, Puerto Antioquia, operated by the local port authority Puerto Bahía Colombia de Urabá (PBCU) in cooperation with CMA CGM, aims to become one of Colombia’s main maritime gateways on the Atlantic coast.
In its first phase, it will offer a 570-meter-long berth with a 16.30-meter draft and three STS cranes, with the capacity to handle up to 600,000 TEU per year.
