Carriers complete alliance reshuffle in U.S./Brazil trade

Carriers complete alliance reshuffle in U.S./Brazil trade    Carriers have firmed up new alliances and partnerships in the U.S. East Coast/East Coast of South America container trade following the termination of the trade’s largest carrier grouping, comprising Hamburg Sud, Maersk Sealand, P&O Nedlloyd, Evergreen, the CP Ships group and APL.
   P&O Nedlloyd confirmed Wednesday it is leaving the cooperative agreement with Maersk Sealand and Hamburg Sud to operate a vessel-sharing agreement with CMA CGM providing a weekly service in the trade.
   P&O Nedlloyd will call the service Atlantic Brazil Express. CMA CGM will operate the service to succeed its Ambre vessel-sharing agreement with CSAV. The joint service will use five vessels of about 2,500 TEU nominal capacities, with P&O Nedlloyd contributing three ships and CMA CGM two. The Ambre service previously employed six vessels.
   From April, the service will call at the ports of Paranagua, Sao Francisco do Sul, Santos, Sepetiba and Suape to Charleston, Norfolk and New York.
   CSAV will stop cooperating with CMA CGM in this trade to take space instead on the U.S. East Coast/East Coast of South America weekly service operated by Maersk Sealand from March. The service will operate vessels of about 2,500 TEUs and call at New York, Philadelphia, Norfolk, Charleston, Miami, Puerto Cabello, Santos, Montevideo, Rio Grande, Francisco do Sul, Itajai, Sao Francisco do Sul, Santos, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and Pecem.
   Hamburg Sud, another former VSA partner of Maersk Sealand, has said it will also offer an independent weekly service in the trade, on which Hamburg Sud subsidiary Alianca and Evergreen will take space. This service will employ six 3,800-TEU vessels and call at New York, Philadelphia, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Miami, Puerto Cabello, Suape, Santos, Buenos Aires, Rio Grande, Santos, Sepetiba, Suape, Pecem and back to New York.
   The multiple changes of partnerships mean that three new competing services will replace the former large two-loop VSA of Maersk Sealand, Hamburg Sud and partners and the smaller one-loop service of CMA CGM and CSAV in this trade. However, Hanjin, “K” Line, MOL and Zim have also recently launched a fourth joint service, adding some 1,600 TEUs in weekly capacity to the U.S. East Coast/East Coast of South America trade.
   It is not known how the CP Ships-owned Lykes Lines and TMM Lines, and APL, will be involved in the U.S. East Coast/East Coast of South America following the ending of their slot-charter agreements with Maersk Sealand and Hamburg Sud.