Agility starts Australian coastal service

Agility starts Australian coastal service
   Agility will start an Australian domestic shipping service between Melbourne, Victoria and Bell Bay, Tasmania in early August.
   Agility Shipping Pty Ltd., a joint venture between Agility Logistics Pty Ltd. and Transworld Marine Express Pty Ltd., will operate the service.
   The three-times-weekly service will operate initially with the Tassie Bridge, a 516-TEU multipurpose self-geared containership. A second vessel may be added to the service later in the year, depending on customer demand, Agility said. The service will be served by Australian-flagged and Australian-crewed vessels, the company added.
   To support further growth, an agreement has been reached in principal between Agility and Tas Rail to launch an intermodal service from Bell Bay to the Tasmania capital city of Hobart in the last quarter of 2010.
   Agility Shipping will operate from offices in Port Melbourne. Paull Van Oost, formerly Agility projects manager, will head up the new company and will be joined by Capt. Glen Colaco, along with other industry veterans in the near future, Agility said.
   Agility Shipping's vessels will operate on fixed berthing windows at Webb Dock 4 in the Port of Melbourne and Bell Bay in Tasmania.    Stevedoring and container depot operations will be provided by Patrick Stevedores in Melbourne and by ANS Stevedores in Bell Bay, both under long-term agreements.