EVERGREEN TO REVAMP ROUND-THE-WORLD SERVICES

EVERGREEN TO REVAMP ROUND-THE-WORLD SERVICES    Evergreen Line will end its trademark contra-rotating eastbound and westbound round-the-world services in February or March. The 17-year-old global services, workhorses of the Taiwanese carrier’s east/west service network, will be replaced by a completely different operation.
   A spokesman for the carrier would neither confirm nor deny the plan, but other industry sources said that the decision to end its round-the-world has already been taken in Taipei.
   The eastbound and westbound round-the-world operation, which currently employs a total of 20 ships, was launched by Evergreen in 1984. Its distinctive round-the-world operating pattern has become closely associated with the Taiwanese carrier.
   The westbound service uses 10 vessels of about 4,000-TEU capacity and calls at Tokyo, Osaka, Busan, Hakata, Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, Singapore, Colombo, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Thamesport, Zeebrugge, Le Havre, New York, Norfolk, Charleston, Cristobal, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Osaka, Busan, Hakata, Kaohsiung, Hong Kong and Singapore.
   The eastbound operation employs 10 ships of about 4,200 TEUs with a rotation of Port Kelang, Singapore, Hong Kong, Kaohsiung, Busan, Osaka, Nagoya, Tokyo, Shimizu, Los Angeles, Cristobal, Charleston, Baltimore, New York, Le Havre, Thamesport, Antwerp, Hamburg,    Port Said, Port Kelang, Singapore, Hong Kong, Kaohsiung, Busan, Osaka, Nagoya, Tokyo and Shimizu.
   The management of Evergreen recently declared that the company now prefers “shuttle services” with short round-voyages and fast transit times, rather than more extended services that call at many ports.
   The carrier, which operates outside global alliances, is expected to replace the round-the-world services by separate new services covering the constituent trades.
   Five new 6,332-TEU vessels currently being built for Evergreen and a series of 15 “U-type” 5,652-TEU containerships already in operation are likely to feature in the carrier’s new service configuration. The future deployment of the carrier’s 20 Panamax-size ships from the round-the-world services is unknown.
   Evergreen’s plan to terminate its round-the-world services comes against a background of vessel over-capacity and a trend among carriers to upsize their containerships.
   The network restructuring at Evergreen will also affect the New World Alliance carriers APL, Hyundai Merchant Marine and MOL, who all take space on the transpacific leg of its eastbound and wesbound round-the-world services.