German lines swap slots on Gulf Coast/S.America loops

   The German liner carriers Hapag-Lloyd and Hamburg Sud said this week they have initiated a slot-swap agreement on the trade between the U.S. Gulf Coast, Central America and the east coast of South America.
   Hapag-Lloyd will take slots on Hamburg Sud’s SAEC service, while Hamburg Sud will do the same on Hapag-Lloyd’s GS1 service.
   The SAEC service, which Hapag-Lloyd will call SCS, has a rotation of Houston, Cartagena, Suape, Santos, Imbituba, Navegantes, Itapoa, Paranagua, Santos, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Cartagena, Veracruz, Altamira, and Houston, according to American Shipper affiliate ComPair Data. The service is operated with seven vessels Hamburg Sud vessels with an average capacity of 4,043 TEUs. CCNI and Alianca take slots on the service.
   The GS1 service has a rotation of Houston, New Orleans, Caucedo, Suape, Santos, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Rio Grande, Navegantes, Santos, Rio de Janeiro, Caucedo, Veracruz, Altamira, and Houston. It’s operated with eight vessels (five from Hapag-Lloyd and three from CSAV) with an average capacity of 5,546 TEUs. Maersk Line, NYK Line and Libra-Montemar take slots on the service. – Eric Johnson