GRAND ALLIANCE TO START TWO ATLANTIC SERVICES AT END OF JULY

GRAND ALLIANCE TO START TWO ATLANTIC SERVICES AT END OF JULY    Grand Alliance carriers P&O Nedlloyd, Hapag-Lloyd, OOCL and NYK will commence two weekly services linking northern Europe to U.S. North Atlantic, South Atlantic and Gulf ports in the second half of this month.
   P&O Nedlloyd, Hapag-Lloyd, OOCL and NYK will start a “butterfly” service jointly, which comprises two loops:
   * The Atlantic Express (or ATX) loop has a rotation of Hamburg, Rotterdam, Antwerp, Southampton, New York, Norfolk, Charleston or Savannah, New York, Southampton, Le Havre, Rotterdam, Hamburg;
   * The South Atlantic Gulf Express (or SGX) loop calls at Southampton, Le Havre, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Charleston or Savannah, Miami, Houston, Charleston or Savannah, Hamburg, Rotterdam, Antwerp and Southampton.
   A spokesman for OOCL said that the alliance will decide whether to call at Charleston or Savannah within days, once negotiations with the terminal operators have been completed.
   The North Atlantic and South Atlantic/Gulf loops, combined, will employ eight ships of about 2,750 TEUs.
   The first westbound sailing for the ATX service is scheduled on July 19 from Rotterdam. The first ATX eastbound departure will be on July 28 from Charleston.
   For the SGX loop, the first westbound departure is scheduled on July 24 from Rottderdam. Eastbound, the first sailing will be on July 28 from Charleston.
   At the same time, P&O Nedlloyd and OOCL, who were part of a vessel-sharing agreement with Maersk Sealand in the Atlantic trade, will stop loading cargo on the VSA services.