CSAV to run own Mexico/U.S. West Coast loop

CSAV to run own Mexico/U.S. West Coast loop    CSAV said last week it is leaving a loop it operated with Hamburg S’d connecting North America and South America to form its own North America-only loop with similar port coverage on the U.S. West Coast.
   The Chilean line will not join Hamburg S’d as the German line extends its WAMS service to Europe and will instead offer its version of the service, which it dubs NACSA, between Mexico and the U.S. West Coast.
   The previous rotation of the WAMS-NACSA service was Cartagena, Puerto Quetzal, Lazaro Cardenas, Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle, Vancouver, Oakland, Long Beach, Manzanillo, Lazaro Cardenas, Puerto Quetzal and Cartagena, before Hamburg S’d said it was adding calls at Tangier, Rotterdam, Tilbury, Hamburg and Le Havre. Fellow Chilean line CCNI will replace CSAV as a joint operator on the service, providing two of 10 vessels.
   As of Feb. 2, CSAV will offer a scaled down NACSA, with a rotation of Manzanillo, Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle, Vancouver, Oakland, Long Beach, and Manzanillo. It will operate with three vessels, one more than CSAV provides on the current WAMS-NACSA service. CSAV didn’t specify the size of the vessels on the service but it has provided one 2,400-TEU vessel and one 1,700-TEU vessel on the NACSA service, according to American Shipper affiliate ComPair Data. Reports suggest the three vessels on the shortened NACSA loop would be in the 1,500-TEU range.

Phillips

   ‘NACSA’s main role is probably to feed Canadian and U.S. West Coast cargo to Manzanillo, where instead of continuing to Cartagena with WAMS, it can still relay boxes to Cartagena via CMA CGM’s PEX 2 loop,’ an option not open to Hamburg S’d and CCNI, said ComPair Data’s Francis Phillips. ‘At Manzanillo CSAV can now focus better on relaying cargo onto its two standalone Asia/West Coast South America loops AMEX and AMEX 2, with their superb joint port coverage and ample capacity.
   ‘Also, once PEX2 gets to Cartagena, CSAV has available two further transshipment options for North Europe (ECS and Eurandes), two for the U.S. East Coast (AMEX and Americas), one for the Med (Mediterranean Service) and one for the Caribbean and Gulf (Gulf Bridge). PEX2 itself calls other Caribbean ports direct before heading off to Hong Kong,’ Phillips said. ‘ Eric Johnson