The CMA CGM Group welcomes the maiden call of Ocean Rise Express (OCR), a new weekly service connecting Japan directly to North Europe, at the Port of Kobe. This latest move reinforces the Group’s ongoing commitment to strengthening Japan’s supply chain resilience and expanding access to global markets.

Direct Connection from Japan to North Europe with OCR Service

Ocean Rise Express provides shippers with a direct connection from Japan to major North European gateways, offering quick transit times and schedule reliability. From Yokohama, cargo is expected to arrive in Rotterdam in 38 days, Hamburg in 41 days and Southampton in 45 days. Fully operated by CMA CGM, OCR helps accelerate cargo delivery and improve shippers’ time-to-market.

The inaugural call was undertaken by the CMA CGM TOSCA, an 8,000 TEU vessel. The vessel will subsequently call at Nagoya and Yokohama, Japan, followed by Xiamen and Yantian, China, before proceeding to Northern Europe.

OCR rotation: Kobe – Nagoya – Yokohama – Xiamen – Yantian – Rotterdam – Hamburg – Southampton – Nansha – Kobe.

Connecting Japan to U.S. West Coast with Enhanced EX1 Service

In addition, CMA CGM is also enhancing its Eagle Express 1 (EX1) service, further reinforcing Japan’s connectivity to the United States West Coast through improved port coverage and transit times.

This US Flag service with weekly departures supports optimized frequency and reliability.
EX1 will feature additional port calls in Japan – Kobe, Nagoya and Yokohama. Cargo from these ports will arrive in Los Angeles in 16 days, 14 days and 12 days, respectively. With the improved network design, shippers benefit from fast, dependable transit to the U.S. West Coast, and a more resilient supply chain supported by CMA CGM’s strategic terminal presence in Los Angeles (FMS), Busan (BNC) and Yokohama (Honmoku D5).

The weekly service will commence sailing from Port of Kobe on 5 May 2026, with the following rotation:

EX1 rotation: Qingdao – Busan – Kobe – Nagoya – Yokohama – Los Angeles – Oakland – Yokohama – Naha – Busan – Qingdao.