CKYH Alliance ending U.S./Med loop

CKYH Alliance ending U.S./Med loop COSCO Container Lines Americas Inc. has confirmed that the CKYH Alliance of COSCO, “K” Line, Yang Ming and Hanjin Shipping will next month end its transatlantic TA3 service to ports in the Mediterranean due to unspecified “unforeseen circumstances.”
   The TA3 uses four vessels averaging about 1,500 TEUs with a port rotation of Naples; Genoa; Barcelona; New York; Norfolk, Va.; Charleston, S.C.; and back to Naples.
   The service's last voyage will be made by the 1,243-TEU YM Sky, on Aug. 23 out of New York.
   COSCO’s U.S. unit said it’s in discussions with various lines to arrange a slot charter agreement “to help fulfill certain obligations.”
   The Asian carrier alliance's decision to end the TA3 loop follows Maersk Line opting to cancel its transatlantic East Med service by the fourth quarter, which will leave the Danish carrier without direct connections between the United States and Israel.