The French shipping company CMA CGM has announced a change in the rotation of its SIRIUS service, the dedicated line that connects the western Mediterranean with the east coast of South America and has its main stops in the ports of Algeciras and Tangier Med in the Strait of Gibraltar. The change consists of the incorporation of the Brazilian port of Itajaí into the rotation and the elimination of the stop in Itaguaí (Rio de Janeiro).
The SIRIUS service, operated by CMA CGM with two of its own vessels in its stretch of the western Mediterranean, links the ports of southern Europe and northern Africa with the main terminals on the south Atlantic coast, including Santos, Paranaguá, Itapoa, Salvador, Buenos Aires, and Montevideo. The stops in Algeciras and Tangier Med serve as connection nodes that allow competitive transit times to the eastern Mediterranean, northern Africa, the Adriatic, and the Indian subcontinent, with transits of 36 days between Nhava Sheva (India) and Santos via Tangier.
The last vessel to call at Itaguaí will be the LISA MARIE, scheduled to depart from Tangier Med on May 23 and estimated to arrive at Itaguaí on June 13. The first vessel to touch the new port of Itajaí will be the SANTA INES, departing from Tangier Med on May 29 with an expected arrival at Itajaí on June 16, 2026.
The new complete rotation of the service will be configured as follows: Tangier Med (northbound) – Algeciras – Tangier Med (southbound) – Salvador – Santos (southbound) – Itapoa – Itajaí – Paranaguá – Santos (northbound) – Tangier Med – Algeciras. The incorporation of Itajaí, one of the main ports of the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, represents a minor adjustment in the overall service program. The stops in Paranaguá will shift one day, from Wednesday to Thursday, and those in Santos heading north will move from Friday to Saturday. The arrival at Tangier Med will remain unchanged.
The SIRIUS service offers transit times of between 11 and 19 days from Algeciras to the main Brazilian ports southbound, and between 16 and 20 days northbound from South American ports to Algeciras. The service has ample capacity for refrigerated cargo (reefer) and has a dedicated team for handling project cargo and conventional cargo (breakbulk). Connections via Algeciras allow access to ports such as Valencia, Leixoes, or Constanza, while connections via Tangier facilitate access to Barcelona, Genoa, Livorno, and Turkish ports.
