Evergreen goes it alone on Asia/Mexico/Panama service

Evergreen goes it alone on Asia/Mexico/Panama service Taiwanese carrier Evergreen Line will later this month continue its weekly Far East/Mexico/Panama service as an independent operator by replacing vessels deployed by Chinese service partner COSCO Container Lines.
   Evergreen will restart the China-U.S. East Coast Service (CUE) under the new name of the Far East-Panama Service (FPS) on May 25 from Kaohsiung with the eastbound departure of the vessel Aphrodite. The revised service will use ships in the 2,728-TEU to 3,428-TEU range on a rotation of Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Ningbo, Lazaro Cardenas, Cristobal and back to Kaohsiung. The service will have a round voyage of 55 days, requiring eight ships for a weekly frequency although the current sailing schedule only lists seven vessels.
   The last eastbound voyage of the old CUE string with COSCO will be made by Ital Grace from Shanghai on May 25. The switch to the FPS will bring new calls at Kaohsiung, while calls at Yantian made on the CUE will not be continued on the new operation.
   Evergreen is negotiating with other carriers about potential slot charter deals on the FPS, said Barbara Yeninas, a spokeswoman for the company in New York.