CKYH ALLIANCE UPGRADES FLEET OF CHINA/CALIFORNIA SERVICE

CKYH ALLIANCE UPGRADES FLEET OF CHINA/CALIFORNIA SERVICE    The global alliance of COSCO, “K” Line, Yang Ming Marine Transport and Hanjin Shipping is upgrading the weekly capacity of its Asia/California “CEN” service, with the introduction of larger, slightly faster containerships.
   The service, which currently utilizes six vessels of about 2,800-TEU capacity, will use five ships from February. Two 3,400-TEU, 20-knot COSCO ships — the “Na Xi He” and “Jing Po He” — will join the service, while slower 2,800-TEU vessels will be phased out.
   The CEN service provides direct calls at the ports of Dalian, Xingang, Qingdao, Busan, Long Beach, Oakland and Yokohama.
   Following the fleet reshuffle of the CEN weekly loop, its port rotation sequence will continue unchanged, but with adjustments to the days and times of call.
   Grand Alliance carriers Hapag-Lloyd, NYK Line, OOCL and P&O Nedlloyd, who have recently started taking slots on the “CEN” service, will also be affected by the service change.
   The upgrading of the CEN service follows the recent termination by the CKYH alliance of its Asia/Pacific Northwest “PDN” service and the addition of another
Asia/U.S. East Coast all-water service, called “AWE 3.”