CHINESE CARRIER SHANGHAI HAIHUA SHIPPING TO ENTER TRANSPACIFIC

CHINESE CARRIER SHANGHAI HAIHUA SHIPPING TO ENTER TRANSPACIFIC    Shanghai Haihua Shipping Co. Ltd., a Chinese regional shipping line, plans to enter the transpacific container trade at the end of November under a vessel-sharing agreement with Great Western Steamship.
   Shanghai-based Shanghai Haihua Shipping and Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.-based Great Western have filed an agreement with the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission to establish a five-ship vessel-sharing agreement in the trade between U.S. Pacific Coast ports and ports in China, including Hong Kong.
   Great Western said its current transpacific service will remain unchanged once the cooperation with Shanghai Haihua Shipping has started.
   The carriers filed an agreement with the FMC authorizing them to operate up to five 2,000-TEU ships. Initially, the lines will operate five vessels — four from Great Western and one from HASCO — with capacities of up to 1,600 TEUS. The weekly transpacific service calls at Shanghai, Hong Kong, Los Angeles and Shanghai.
   Great Western will have 1,460 TEUS of space on the vessels; HASCO will have the remaining 140 TEUS. Those figures may be adjusted later, Great Western said.
   The agreement also authorizes Great Western to time-charter one ship to HASCO.
   In September, Great Western lost its former vessel-sharing partner — FESCO — when the Russian shipping line pulled out of the Far East/North America trade to focus on its Russia/North America market.
   Great Western said it believes that Shanghai Haihua Shipping — also known as HASCO — is a “very cooperative partner.”
   “HASCO has operated profitably and professionally within the inter-Asia sector for years, and their entry into the transpacific trade will have little or no effect on current market conditions as their total annual capacity is rather small,” Great Western said.
   Great Western will continue to manage the vessel-sharing agreement’s vessel rotation, arrivals and departures, and relations with APL’s Eagle Marine Terminals in Los Angeles and with other terminals in Shanghai and Hong Kong.