CMA CGM PEARL: a direct call from Nhava Sheva, Mundra and Karachi to Los Angeles from March 2026

• What changed
• Timeline
• What it means for an importer
• What to check next
• Schedules to read next
• Not verified
• Sources

What changed

Before March, CMA CGM served West India to the US West Coast with a transshipment. The March notice merged the Indian Subcontinent string into PEARL, so one ship loads at Nhava Sheva, Mundra and Karachi and discharges at Los Angeles without a transshipment. Linerlytica described the result as a 98-day pendulum combining the former AS1 and Pearl River Express loops with 14 ships of 8,000 to 11,400 TEU.

The March eastbound order was Nhava Sheva – Mundra – Karachi – Colombo – Singapore – Haiphong – Xiamen – Nansha – Yantian – Los Angeles, and the westbound order Los Angeles – Gwangyang – Qingdao – Shanghai – Ningbo – Shekou – Singapore – Nhava Sheva – Mundra – Karachi. CMA CGM published transit times to Los Angeles of 37 days from Colombo, 42 from Karachi, 44 from Mundra and 47 from Nhava Sheva.

In August CMA CGM revised the eastbound leg. Its notice, as reprinted by AJOT, gives the changed portion as Port Klang – Laem Chabang – Haiphong – Yantian – Los Angeles – Gwangyang – Qingdao; Container News gives the full loop as Port Klang – Laem Chabang – Haiphong – Yantian – Los Angeles – Gwangyang – Qingdao – Shanghai – Ningbo – Shekou – Singapore – Nhava Sheva – Mundra – Karachi – Port Klang. On that reading the Indian calls continue, and the eastbound leg out of Karachi now goes via Port Klang and Laem Chabang instead of Colombo and Singapore.

Timeline

What it means for an importer on this lane

• Los Angeles is the only US call, so PEARL suits cargo that clears and delivers in Southern California or moves inland by rail from there. Oakland, Seattle and the East Coast are not on it.
• The March transit figures, 47 days from Nhava Sheva and 44 from Mundra, are CMA CGM's published times, not Airlift's. The August change to the eastbound leg was announced without new transit figures, so treat those numbers as the carrier's March statement until you see a dated sailing.
• A direct call removes the transshipment at Colombo or Singapore that other India to Los Angeles routings use. On the Sealanes route pages for Nhava Sheva and Mundra to Los Angeles, most published sailings from the other carriers still include one stop.

What to check next

• The transit time on a dated PEARL sailing from your load port, not the March average.
• Whether your booking is under the Indian Subcontinent to US West Coast code (0FFH0E1MA in the March notice) or routes through another CMA CGM service.
• The current rotation on CMA CGM's line-service page, since the loop was revised once already this year.

Schedules to read next

CMA CGM's PEARL sailings are not on the India to Los Angeles pairs in the schedule feed Sealanes reads, so the route pages below show the other carriers on those pairs. The CMA CGM carrier page lists the CMA CGM services the feed does carry.

Not verified

Sources

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