G6 voids Asia-Europe sailings due to weak demand

Meanwhile, maritime consultant Drewry said it believes the sale of G6 Alliance member APL’s parent company Neptune Orient Lines is unlikely at this time, despite the line being a “habitual loss maker.”    Members of the G6 Alliance will void four additional sailings between Asia and Europe due to changes in market demand and said Friday the alliance will continue to review future plans.
    According to a joint statement from the ocean carriers, voided sailings in weeks ahead include:

• Loop 6 service in week 36, westbound ETA Kaohsiung Sept. 3, 2015. The westbound Kaohsiung call and the eastbound Jebel Ali call will be added into Loop 7 in the respective week. The westbound Colombo and Nansha calls will be added into Loop 4 and the Fuzhou call will be added into Loop 5.
• Loop 7 service in week 37, westbound ETA Qingdao Sept. 7, 2015. The westbound Qingdao call will be added into Loop 4 in the respective week, with the newly added Gdansk call being covered by the Loop 5 in the respective week.
• Loop 4 service in week 38, westbound ETA Ningbo Sept. 18, 2015 The westbound Le Havre call will be added into Loop 6 in the respective week.
• Loop 5 service in week 39, westbound ETA Kwangyang Sept. 25, 2015. The westbound Kwangyang and Pusan calls will be added to other loops in the respective week.

   The G6 Alliance members are APL, Hapag-Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant Marine, MOL, NYK, and OOCL.
   Meanwhile, in an article in this week’s edition of Container Insight Weekly, London-based consultants Drewry discussed rumors that the government of Singapore’s investment company, Temasek, may sell NOL, the parent company of G6 member line APL.
   Drewry said it believes Temasek “is not under pressure to sell and is unlikely to accept a low price, there are few willing buyers, and (APL’s) fleet is not an attraction.”
   While NOL/APL has been a “habitual loss-maker,” according to Drewry, it is “little more than a speck” in Temasek’s portfolio and the investment firm is likely to remain a substantial shareholder.
   One benefit to holding on to NOL/APL is that Temasek is full owner of container terminal operator PSA International. Temasek could leverage APL and its G6 partners to utilize Singapore’s new 65-million-TEU per year capacity mega-port at Tuas. The first phase of that terminal, with capacity of 25 million TEUs per year, is scheduled to be ready in six years.