MED SHIPPING, CMA CGM TO DEPLOY 8,000-TEU SHIPS IN PACIFIC

MED SHIPPING, CMA CGM TO DEPLOY 8,000-TEU SHIPS IN PACIFIC    Mediterranean Shipping Co. and CMA CGM have announced a 10-year agreement to operate a joint transpacific service from the second half of 2004 with vessels of 8,000-TEU capacity.
   Under the agreement, five new ships of 8,000 TEUs, built in Korea, will be deployed in the joint service. They will be among the largest vessels, if not the largest containerships in the transpacific.
   With an unusual timing, the big-ship transpacific service was announced as carriers and shippers were negotiating this year’s transpacific service contracts. Negotiations are dominated by the view that shippers may face some ship undercapacity during the peak season, as happened last year.
   In a joint statement, MSC and CMA CGM said that their agreement will be a 50/50 partnership and a vessel-sharing agreement. The carriers did not specify whether CMA CGM will operate some of the 8,000-TEU ships, which are believed to have been ordered by MSC.
   The weekly service with the large containerships is intended to replace existing services, the carriers said. It will have a rotation of Shanghai, Xiamen, Yantian, Hong Kong, Pusan, Los Angeles, Vancouver and back to Shanghai.
   The agreement is subject to approval by the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission and China’s Ministry of Communications.
   Jacques Saade, chairman of CMA CGM, and Gianluigi Aponte, president of MSC, described the 10-year transpacific agreement as a milestone in the future relations of the two companies.
   MSC and CMA CGM already cooperate in the transatlantic trade, where the French carrier takes space on ships operated by MSC.
   China Shipping Container Lines has also ordered 8,000-TEU containerships for the transpacific trade.