Japan’s big 3 join on Asia/South America

Japan’s big 3 join on Asia/South America    The big three Japanese container lines will begin collaborating on two services between the Far East and South America, the lines confirmed Thursday.
   The vessel sharing agreement, first reported Monday by maritime news service Alphaliner, will see NYK Line's existing ALEX-NEO 11-ship loop turned into a 10-ship loop, while a service from compatriot carriers MOL and 'K' Line, the Andes/WL1, will go from a 10-ship to nine-ship service.
   NYK has renamed its service and the added service ALEX-1 and ALEX-2, while MOL has named them WL1 and WL2, and 'K' Line New Andes Loop 1 and Loop 2.
   Precise details of which carriers will provide vessels on the service were not immediately available, though Alphaliner reported MOL and 'K' Line would provide one ship each on the revised ALEX-1 service. 'K' Line provides six ships and MOL four on the existing Andes/WL1 service.
   NYK's current ALEX-NEO service is a standalone service using 11 ships with an average capacity of 2,552 TEUs, according to American Shipper affiliate ComPair Data. NYK said in a statement Thursday vessel sizes on that service would be upgraded to 4,200 to 4,800 TEUs, although with one less ship.
   The new rotation for the ALEX-1 — which MOL calls WL1 and 'K' Line calls New Andes Loop 1 — is Yokohama, Keelung, Hong Kong, Da Chan Bay, Xiamen, Shanghai, Busan, Manzanillo, Callao, Iquique, Valparaiso, Lirquen, Callao, Manzanillo and Yokohama.
   That deletes calls at Nagoya, Puerto Quetzal, Buenaventura, and Guayaquil from the existing ALEX-NEO rotation, according to ComPair Data, though all but Puerto Quetzal will be served by the second loop (the one operated by MOL and 'K' Line).
   The loop for the ALEX-2, which MOL calls WL2 and 'K' Line calls New Andes Loop 2, is Tokyo, Busan, Shanghai, Ningbo, Nagoya, Yokohama, Honolulu, Manzanillo, Buenaventura, Guayaquil, Manzanillo, Honolulu and Tokyo.
   The cooperation between the three Japanese carriers is significant because the three haven't jointly operated a service in 15 years, Alphaliner said, when MOL and NYK left a pool of six carriers that operated on the Asia/West Coast South America trade dissolved.
   The service revisions go into effect July 22 for the first loop and July 29 for the second loop. ' Eric Johnson