Japanese lines to merge Japan/Jakarta shuttle

Japanese lines to merge Japan/Jakarta shuttle    Japanese ocean carriers 'K' Line and TSK said Thursday they are merging their individual services between Japan and Southeast Asia into a single service.
   From mid-May, the services will be merged and capacity cut 'in response to the ongoing financial crisis that has drastically reduced cargo volume for this sector,' the lines said. In the interim, the lines said they would exchange slots on each other's individual services.
   When the joint service begins, it will deploy four 1,700-TEU vessels on a weekly service with a 28-day round trip voyage. Both carriers will provide two vessels. The port rotation will be: Osaka, Shimizu, Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, Kobe, Keelung, Manila, Singapore, Port Klang, Jakarta, Singapore, Manila and Osaka.