WALLENIUS WILHELMSEN STARTS ASIAN LINKS, REVAMPS RTW OPERATION

WALLENIUS WILHELMSEN STARTS ASIAN LINKS, REVAMPS RTW OPERATION    Wallenius Wilhelmsen Lines, the roll-on/roll-off shipping group, will introduce two vessel schedules to service the intra-Asia and Asia-Middle East markets, beginning early November.
   The Scandinavian shipping group announced the new services as it also prepares to restructure its round-the-world service, which incorporates an Asia/North America operation, effective Oct. 30.
   The new intra-Asia service will begin in Singapore and call at Laem Chabang, Hong Kong, Keelung, Shanghai, Tianjin, Inchon, Masan, Kobe, Osaka and Yokohama, returning via Shanghai then onto Laem Chabang en route to Singapore.
   From Singapore, the Middle East service calls at Dubai and Dammam, with ad hoc calls on inducement at ports in Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran and Pakistan, before returning to Singapore and continuing through intra-Asia.
   Wallenius Wilhelmsen said that it has developed these two new services to support the Asia and Middle East markets. The shipping group sees potential for growth in infrastructure project cargo on the Asia-Middle East route.
   “The flexibility of our vessels in carrying ro/ro, project and general cargo allows for transport in containers, as well as the ability to offer a non-containerized service where required,” a spokesman for Wallenius Wilhelmsen said.
   The Scandinavian shipping group also announced recently that it would focus its transpacific service on ro/ro and car traffic only, and would withdraw from the Asia/North America container market.
   Wallenius Wilhelmsen will restructure its round-the-world service, which incorporates the changed Asia/North America operation. From Oct. 30, the amended fortnightly round-the-world service will provide improved transit time and increased ro/ro capacity, Wallenius Wilhelmsen said.
   It will use eight ro/ro vessels, operating on a 120-day schedule and sailing from Asia to the U.S. West Coast, Panama, the U.S. East Coast and Europe, returning to Oceania via North America.
   The increased ro/ro intake of the service is a result of the conversion of the weather decks of four ships from container to ro/ro capacity. Four converted vessels — the “Taiko,” “Tampa,” “Texas” and “Taronga” — will operate in the round-the-world service alongside with Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s four Mark IV vessels — the “Talisman,” “Tamesis,” “Tarago” and “Tamerlane.”