ZIM offers new Asia-U.S. East Coast service via Suez

The 10-ship loop will call in South China, Vietnam, Colombo, New York, Savannah and Norfolk, and is designed to provide fast transit from Asia to New York.    Israeli liner carrier ZIM will start a new service connecting the Far East and Indian Subcontinent with the U.S. East Coast via the Suez Canal.
   The new service, which ZIM has dubbed the Seven Star Express (Z7S), will commence May 29 with a rotation of Da Chan Bay, Yantian, Cai Mep, Singapore, Colombo, New York, Savannah, Norfolk, Singapore, and Da Chan Bay.
   ZIM, which will operate the service completely with its own vessels, will deploy 10 ships with capacity between 5,000 TEUs and 6,500 TEUs on a weekly schedule.
   The company said in a statement the Z7S “offers the fastest transit time from Vietnam and from Indian ports via Colombo to the U.S.” and will “cater for emerging markets in the South Asian region via Singapore and Colombo hubs, offering one of the fastest available connections to New York.”
    “This new service is an additional phase of ZIM’s strategy striving to respond to customers’ needs, as we have recently done with the ‘extra loaders’ from Asia to the U.S. East Coast,” said ZIM President and Chief Executive Officer Rafi Danieli. 
   Danieli noted the new service “coincides with ZIM’s 70th anniversary. We are proud of our legacy, and look ahead with confidence.”
   The name of the service echoes the ZIM company logo, which has seven stars. Before the founding of Israel, Theodore Herzl wrote in his 1896 book The Jewish State, “We have no flag, and we need one. If we desire to lead many men, we must raise a symbol above their heads. I would suggest a white flag, with seven golden stars. The white field symbolizes our pure new life; the stars are the seven golden hours of our working-day. For we shall march into the Promised Land carrying the badge of honor.”
   According to ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting, there are 20 direct liner services from Asia to the U.S. East Coast, offering 102,969 TEUs of weekly allocated capacity. ZIM currently operates one standalone service, the ZCP, operated with 11 vessels and serving ports in the Caribbean, Asia and U.S. East Coast. ZIM also operates three vessels on the G6 Alliance NYE/SCE service and purchases slots on the G6’s CEC and AZX services, all of which serve the Asia-U.S. East Coast trade.