Hapag-Lloyd, OOCL join MSC Europe/Montreal loop

Hapag-Lloyd, OOCL join MSC Europe/Montreal loop Ocean carrier Mediterranean Shipping Co. is merging its Europe/St. Lawrence River service with one operated by Hapag-Lloyd and OOCL, the lines said Friday.
   From July 30 the lines will collaborate on a new service with a port rotation of Montreal, Liverpool, Antwerp, Bremerhaven, Le Havre, Liverpool and Montreal, using two 3,000-TEU MSC vessels and one 2,800-TEU vessel each from Hapag-Lloyd and OOCL.
   MSC had operated a standalone service (the Montreal Express) with the same rotation minus the extra call at Montreal. Hapag-Lloyd and OOCL, partners in the Grand Alliance, operated their own SLCS1 loop with a similar rotation, although it had a call in Southampton and no call in Bremerhaven. The call in Southampton has now been dropped.
   Hapag-Lloyd and OOCL's jointly operated SLCS2 loop, with a rotation of Antwerp, Hamburg, Montreal and Hamburg, will continue to be offered. The service uses two 4,400-TEU Hapag-Lloyd vessels and one OOCL ship.