G6 Alliance alters Asia-Europe loop

Alliance members announced they will add two Chinese port calls to their Loop 6 service between Asia and Europe.    Members of the G6 Alliance – ocean carriers APL, Hapag-Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant Marine, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Nippon Yusen Kaisha and Orient Overseas Container Line – have announced changes to their Loop 6 service between Asia and Europe.
   The carriers will add calls to Fuzhou and Nansha with the July 23 sailing of the APL Le Havre from Fuzhou, APL said in a statement.
   The revised port rotation of Loop 6 will be Fuzhou, Kaohsiung, Xiamen, Nansha, Shekou, Hong Kong, Singapore, Colombo, Southampton, Antwerp, Hamburg, Rotterdam, Jebel Ali, Shekou and Fuzhou.
   According to ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting, the G6 members operate Loop 6 with 11 vessels with an average capacity of 12,247 TEUs.
   No other services currently offer direct connections between Fuzhou and North Europe.
   The NE2 service, operated by the CKYHE Alliance, offers a direct call at Nansha to and from Europe. The NE2 operates with 10 vessels with an average capacity of 9,909 TEUs. The CKYHE Alliance comprises container carriers COSCO, “K” Line, Yang Ming, Hanjin and Evergreen Line.
   The massive Asia-Europe and transpacific pendulum service AE6/TP6/Lion/Pearl, operated by the 2M Alliance of Maersk Line and MSC, offers capacity from Nansha to Europe, but does call Nansha inbound from Europe. That service operates with 17 vessels with an average capacity of 12,247 TEUs.