COSCO/YANGMING/”K” LINE GROUP MAKE ROUND-WORLD CHANGES

COSCO/YANGMING/”K” LINE GROUP MAKE ROUND-WORLD CHANGES

COSCO/YANGMING/”K” LINE GROUP MAKE ROUND-WORLD CHANGES

   Global alliance partners COSCO Container Lines, Yangming Line and “K” Line are planning to introduce in April three joint services on the Asia/U.S. East Coast, Asia/Mediterranean and Mediterranean/U.S. East Coast routes.
   For COSCO and Yangming, the new services will complement or replace existing services that they currently operate jointly.
   The three lines will commence an Asia/U.S. East Coast all-water service via Panama.
   It is expected that the carriers will substitute the new Asia/Mediterranean and Mediterranean/U.S. East Coast services for the existing Asia/Mediterranean/U.S. East Coast “AMA” pendulum of COSCO and Yangming, in which “K” Line was not involved.
   These changes will effectively divide into two separate weekly sections the current COSCO/Yangming service, with one section catering for Asia/Mediterranean cargoes and another one for Mediterranean/U.S. East Coast traffic.   
   “K” Line will join both sections as a new partner and enter the two trades.
   These changes are all subject to regulatory approval by the relevant authorities. A spokesman for COSCO said that the new services have not been finalized.
   The three lines said that the new Asia/U.S. East Coast “AEX” service will call at Shanghai, Yantian, Hong Kong, and via Panama to New York, Norfolk, Charleston or Savannah, and then Tokyo, Kobe and Shanghai.
   A new Asia/Mediterranean “AMX” service will call at unspecified Chinese ports, then Hong Kong, Singapore, Port Kelang, Colombo, Port Said, Naples, Genoa, Fos, Valencia, Port Said, Singapore, Hong Kong, and then main ports in China, they said.
   A new Mediterranean/U.S. East Coast service becomes the group’s third transatlantic string, “TAS3”, calling at Naples, Genoa, Barcelona, New York, Norfolk, Charleston or Savannah, and Naples, they said.
   For the three carriers, this new arrangement permits different sizes of ships in each of the round-world sections.
   Ships of 3,400 TEUs each will be used in “AEX,” with 3,500-3,800-TEU vessels in “AMX” and 2,000-TEU units in “TAS3,” they said.
   The alliance’s regrouping has different implications for each of the three members. “K” Line gains access to three new tradelanes, COSCO reverts to its original all-water China-U.S. East Coast format via Panama, and Yangming increases its presence.
   Yangming already had an Asia/U.S. East Coast all-water service (with Hanjin) and access to a second Asia/Mediterranean string, partnering the New World Alliance.