COSCO, Evergreen split Asia/Africa/ECSA service

COSCO, Evergreen split Asia/Africa/ECSA service    COSCO Container Lines and Evergreen Line said Tuesday they will divide a joint service connecting the Far East with South Africa and the East Coast of South American beginning in mid-May.
   The ESA service will be split into two new loops: the ESA and FAX.
   From mid-May, the ESA will operate with 10 vessels averaging 3,500 TEUs, with Evergreen providing six and COSCO four. The service will have a rotation of Shanghai, Ningbo, Yantian, Hong Kong, Singapore, Santos, Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Santos, Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai.
   The new FAX service will operate with eight vessels of 2,700 to 3,400 TEUs with a rotation of Shanghai, Ningbo, Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, Yantian, Singapore, Tanjung Pelepas, Durban, Cape Town, Singapore, Kaohsiung and Shanghai.
   'Our customers need services that are transit time-competitive to meet their market demands,' the carriers said in a joint statement. 'Dividing these two services will allow greatly flexibility and more expedient round-trip voyages.'