Pacific International Lines may enter transpacific

Pacific International Lines may enter transpacific    Pacific International Lines, the expansion-minded Singapore-based carrier that moved into the Asia/Europe trade last month, is planning to enter the transpacific trade, according to industry sources.
   Pacific International Lines, a member of the Box Club of containership operators, has recently entered into an agreement with CP Ships-owned Lykes Lines to cooperate in a service between Southeast Asia and the Canadian port of Vancouver. A spokesman for CP Ships said the Singapore-based carrier will operate the portion of the service from Singapore to Shanghai, while Lykes will run the portion from Shanghai to Vancouver, but it is not known whether Pacific International Lines aims to market the transpacific service independently as a new entrant.
   An executive at Pacific International Lines at its head office in Singapore discarded the industry talk about its transpacific plan as mere rumors.
   Founded in 1967, Pacific International Lines employs more than 2,100 staff and provides container services in the intra-Asian trades and from the Far East to the Middle East, Red Sea, Africa, India Subcontinent, Australia and New Zealand. In March, the carrier operated a fleet of 90 vessels with a total capacity of about 114,577 TEUs.
   Wan Hai, which operates the new Asia/Europe service jointly with Pacific International Lines, said today it has no plans to cooperate in a joint transpacific link with the Singapore-based carrier.
   If confirmed, Pacific International Lines will be the second new entrant in the Pacific trade in less than a year. U.S. Lines entered the market last December.
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