Hamburg Süd makes waves on Asia-Latin America trade

The ocean carrier will launch a new service network between Asia and South America’s West Coast, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean in April.    Ocean carrier Hamburg Süd, a subsidiary of Maersk Line, will launch a new service network between Asia and South America’s West Coast, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, the carrier announced Wednesday.
   The new network will take the service names of ASPA and ASCA, currently in operation in the same region, but will replace the present partnership with other liner shipping companies and respective vessel sharing agreements (VSA) in April, Hamburg Süd said.
   “Customers will benefit from additional direct connections, higher sailing frequencies, greater flexibility as well as shorter transit times,” the carrier explained. “The existing VSA between Asia and South America East Coast is not affected by the changes and is to continue until the end of 2018.”
   The four new ASPA and ASCA service strings will collectively deploy 39 vessels ranging from 4,500-10,000 TEUs, calling nearly 30 ports. However, the network restructuring will not result in a capacity increase on the supply side.
   In Asia, the loops will call ports in China, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Singapore; and in Latin America, the loops will serve Mexico, Panama, Colombia, Peru and Chile.
  Broken down by loop:
     • The ASPA 1 will have a rotation of Yokohama, Busan, Shanghai, Ningbo, Shekou, Hong Kong, Tauranga, Valparaiso, Puerto Angamos, Callao, Balboa and Yokohama;
     • The ASPA 2 will have a rotation of Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, Shekou, Shanghai, Qingdao, Busan, Lazaro Cardenas, Manzanillo (Mexico), Ningbo, Shanghai, Gwangyang and Yokohama;
     • The ASPA 3 will have a rotation of Ningbo, Shanghai, Gwangyang, Yokohama, Balboa, Buenaventura, Callao, Iquique, Antofagasta, San Vicente, San Antonio, Tauranga, Kaohsiung, Shekou, Shanghai, Qingdao and Busan;
     • And the ASCA will have a rotation of Singapore, Shekou, Hong Kong, Xiamen, Ningbo, Shanghai, Busan, Buenaventura, Balboa, Manzanillo (Panama), Cartagena, Pecem and Singapore.
   “Highlights for reefer customers are two weekly sailings from Chile to Asia, as well as a direct service from Chile and Peru to Japan,” the carrier said. “One of the four new services additionally uses transshipment arrangements to link 24 ports in the Caribbean region with Asia, and vice versa. Furthermore, there is a connection to Hamburg Süd’s East Coast network via the north Brazilian port of Pecem.”