APL to join former G6 partners NYK, OOCL on Japan-U.S. loop

The Singapore-based ocean carrier, now a subsidiary of France’s CMA CGM, will purchase slots on the Japan Express (JPX) service, jointly operated by NYK and OOCL.    Singapore-based ocean carrier APL, now a subsidiary of France’s CMA CGM, will join former G6 Alliance partners NYK and OOCL on their jointly operated Japan Express (JPX) service, the company said in a statement.
   APL will begin purchasing slots on the loop with the April 5 sailing of the Herma P from Kobe.
   According to ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting, the JPX operates with five vessels, four from NYK and one from OOCL, with an average capacity of 4,327 TEUs.
   The full port rotation of the loop is Kobe, Nagoya, Tokyo, Sendai, Los Angeles, Oakland, Tokyo, Nagoya and Kobe.
   “We are excited to expand APL’s Japan-U.S. service network today with the new JPX service,” said Jesper Stenbak, APL senior vice president of transpacific trade. “With direct connectivity between Japan and the U.S., the JPX service will be synonymous with competitive transit time that is as fast as a 10-day transit from Sendai to Los Angeles.
   “Together with APL’s comprehensive portfolio of Trans-Pacific services that is set to be enhanced under the OCEAN ALLIANCE this April, APL is delighted to offer our shippers with more compelling shipping options,” he added.
   OOCL is also a member of the OCEAN Alliance, along with APL and parent CMA CGM, China COSCO Shipping and Evergreen Marine. The OCEAN Alliance is one of two new vessel sharing agreements that will commence in April, the other being THE Alliance, which includes former G6 members Hapag-Lloyd, NYK and MOL; as well as former CKYHE Alliance carriers Yang Ming and “K” Line.
   APL currently participates, either as a vessel operator or a slot purchaser, on 22 services in the transpacific trade between Asia and North America – 14 G6 loops, three operated by the CKYHE, three Ocean3 Alliance strings, and two independent services, one operated with APL ships and one with CMA CGM vessels – according to BlueWater Reporting.
   Of those 22 loops, however, only four make direct calls in Japan – APL’s six-ship 4,944-TEU average Eagle Express (EX1), and the G6 Alliance’s Pacific Atlantic 1 pendulum (15 4,912-TEU average ships), Pacific Atlantic 2 (10 6,720-TEU average ships) and North Pacific 3 (seven 8,651-TEU average ships) services.