Hanjin upgrades transpacific vessel sizes

Hanjin upgrades transpacific vessel sizes    A Hanjin Shipping transpacific service will upgrade capacity, slow steam, and serve the Southern California/Mexico trade beginning in March, according to research from American Shipper affiliate ComPair Data.
   The Korean ocean carrier will transition its CAX service from a four-vessel string to a five-vessel string to enable slow steaming. Additionally, the service will use larger ships. The CAX operates with four 4,367-TEU vessels but will soon be operated with five vessels averaging 5,500 TEUs. The service will also add calls in two Mexican ports — at Ensenada and Manzanillo — before doubling back to Long Beach before the backhaul to Asia.
   Maritime news service Alphaliner said the addition of a U.S./Mexico string allows Hanjin to drop its U.S./Mexico service, operated with one 1,121-TEU charter vessel that's soon to be redelivered to her owners. ComPair Data researcher Kim Williams confirmed that service, the MGS, drops off Hanjin's schedule as of March 6.
   As of March, the CAX service will have a rotation of Shanghai, Gwangyang, Busan, Long Beach, Ensenada, Manzanillo, Long Beach, Busan and Shanghai. Hanjin's CKYH Alliance partners COSCO Container Lines, 'K' Line and Yang Ming will take slots on the revised service, though Yang Ming is not offering the Long Beach/Mexico/Long Beach link.
   'CAX, with its strong Korean element is naturally a Hanjin loop, with the others taking space, but Mexico probably lies outside formal CKYH arrangements,' said Francis Phillips of ComPair Data. 'For that segment Hanjin will have a dominant share from Korea, and COSCO from China, with 'K' Line joining in. But Taiwan is not called direct, which may influence why Yang Ming stays out. Then there is the intra-coastal U.S./Mexico element, which Hanjin may initially have regarded as all its own ‘replaced’ share.'
   Hanjin's moves will add 26 percent of weekly capacity to the service, but gross vessel capacity deployed will increase 57 percent. Even with the added vessel for slow steaming, transit time from Busan to Long Beach stays fast at 10 days, while the total rotation time will now be 35 days.
   'This is the true slot soak-up effect of their so far unannounced action — complying with what now seems to me to be the liner owners’ mutually agreed market restraint strategy in current conditions,' Phillips said.
   He added that it appears the fifth ship will enable Hanjin and COSCO to effectively provide a non-Jones Act Long Beach/Mexico feeder without compromising transit times from Asia.
   Meanwhile, Alphaliner also reported that Hanjin will upgrade the vessel size on its PSX service, a CKYH loop on which COSCO, 'K' Line and Yang Ming take slots. The service operates with five vessels averaging 5,430 TEUs, will soon be operated with five 7,500-TEU vessels. A call in Seattle will also be removed to allow the service speed to be reduced.
   The PSX rotation is Yantian, Kaohsiung, Shanghai, Gwangyang, Busan, Gwangyang, Busan, Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle, Busan and Yantian. ' Eric Johnson