The Port of Lisbon has a new weekly service connecting Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. The Latin-East-Coast Europe Express ESE2/Lux will link Europe and the Mediterranean to the East Coast of South America, with the first call at Lisbon taking place today, October 2. The first vessel of the LUX service calling at the Port of Lisbon is the XIN CHONG QING, a container ship measuring 263.23 meters in length and 32.2 meters in width, with a capacity for 4,051 TEUs. This new service will be operated jointly by COSCO, OOCL, and ONE, using eight vessels with a capacity of 3,000/4,000 TEUs. These vessels are expected to call at Lisbon, usually on Mondays. The transatlantic route began on September 17 in the Northbound direction starting from Montevideo (Uruguay) towards Europe and, in the Southbound direction, from Rotterdam. "This route from Europe to the East Coast of South America strengthens Lisbon's connection to this continent, particularly to Brazil, one of the most important markets for the Port of Lisbon. With this additional solution, we increase our potential to contribute to the growth of national exports, with a shorter maritime travel time between the two continents, a decisive advantage for Lisbon," stated Carlos Correia, President of the Board of Directors of the Port of Lisbon (APL). Currently, cargo traffic between the Port of Lisbon and Brazil is around 1.5 million tons, with more traffic towards imports (90% market share). Olive oil, wine, fruit, and canned goods stand out as the most relevant products in export. The service route includes European ports such as Rotterdam, London Gateway, Hamburg, Antwerp, Lisbon, and Algeciras. In South America, the itinerary covers the ports of Santos, Paranaguá, Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Itapoa, and Rio de Janeiro. COSCO and OOCL, owned by COSCO, will secure half of the capacity, with the remaining capacity ensured by ONE.