CSAV expands Asia/ECSA loop, adds partners

CSAV expands Asia/ECSA loop, adds partners    CSAV, CMA CGM and China Shipping have begun cooperating on a two-loop service between Asia, South Africa and the East Coast of South America, CSAV said in a notice Thursday.
   The service is an expanded version of an existing CSAV loop, the ASAX, which links Asia and East Coast South America. CSAV had operated the ASAX with 12 vessels (one provided by partner Libra-Montemar).
   The new two-loop service will have 21 vessels, 10 of which will be provided by CSAV.
   ASAX Sling 1 will have a rotation of Busan, Shanghai, Ningbo, Chiwan, Hong Kong, Port Klang, Rio de Janeiro, Santos, Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Rio Grande, Paranagua, Santos, Durban, Port Klang, Hong Kong and Busan. CSAV said it will provide six of 11 vessels on this loop but didn't specify how many ships CMA CGM and China Shipping will provide. Average vessel capacity on the loop will be 6,500 TEUs.
   Sling 2 will have a rotation of Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen, Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, Shekou, Port Klang, Santos, Paranagua, Itajai, Santos, Rio de Janeiro, Nqura, Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai. CSAV said it will provide four of the 10 ships on this loop, but again added no details about the other six vessels. Average vessel capacity will be 4,200 TEUs.
   The new two-loop structure omits calls at Qingdao and adds calls at Busan, Xiamen, Shekou, Port Klang, and the South African ports of Durban and Nqura on the eastbound legs back to Asia. The previous iteration of the ASAX had called Durban until August 2010, when calls were dropped.
   In December, CSAV began rotating larger vessels into the ASAX.