COSCO Shipping Lines will expand its maritime offer between Spain and Canada in October with a direct connection linking the ports of Sagunto and Algeciras with Montreal. The schedule communicated by COSCO Shipping Lines Spain includes transit times of 18 days from Sagunto and 16 days from APM Terminals Algeciras.
The service, marketed by COSCO under the name MECA, will follow a rotation to Canada formed by Salerno, Livorno, Genoa, Fos-sur-Mer, Sagunto, Algeciras, Tangier, and Montreal. The offer will also have land continuity from the Canadian port to Toronto and other rail terminals and inland destinations.
The first announced call by COSCO in Sagunto will correspond to the container ship Arica Express, voyage 031W, scheduled to arrive on October 22. The vessel will then continue to Algeciras, where it is scheduled to call on October 23 before proceeding on the rotation towards Tangier and Montreal.
The schedule communicated by COSCO coincides with the reorganization of the offer between the western Mediterranean and Canada previously announced by OOCL. The shipping company published on September 17 the launch of its new Canadian Gateway Express 3 (GEX3), designed to provide direct connections between the ports of the western Mediterranean and Canada on a weekly basis.
OOCL establishes for the GEX3 a rotation formed by Tangier, Salerno, Livorno, Genoa, Fos-sur-Mer, Sagunto, Algeciras, and Montreal. In the eastbound direction, from Canada, the itinerary departs from Montreal and continues to Tangier before returning to the Mediterranean ports. The structure published by OOCL therefore confirms the Spanish calls of Sagunto and Algeciras within this new offer between the Mediterranean and the Canadian market.
The OOCL schedule places the start of westbound sailings in Salerno on October 13, 2026, while the first trip in the opposite direction from Montreal is scheduled for November 9. The company notes that the service will have weekly departures and a feeder connection network to extend its coverage to other points in the Mediterranean.
COSCO's schedule also specifies the corresponding times for the two Spanish ports. From Sagunto, the transit to Montreal will be 18 days, while from Algeciras it will be reduced to 16 days. The Algeciras call will be made at APM Terminals.
The inclusion of Sagunto adds to the presence of Algeciras in the maritime connections with Canada. The new scheme also incorporates Salerno and Livorno into the Mediterranean rotation and maintains stops in Genoa, Fos-sur-Mer, and Tangier before arrival in Montreal.
OOCL presents the GEX3 as a direct connection between Canada and the western Mediterranean, complemented by feeder services to other markets in the region. The official documentation from COSCO Shipping Lines also includes its service schedule with North America among the maritime calendars published for October 2026