“K” LINE, YANG MING RESHUFFLE TRANSPACIFIC, ASIA/EUROPE SERVICES

“K” LINE, YANG MING RESHUFFLE TRANSPACIFIC, ASIA/EUROPE SERVICES

“K” LINE, YANG MING RESHUFFLE TRANSPACIFIC, ASIA/EUROPE SERVICES

   “K” Line and Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. will substantially reshuffle their transpacific and Asia/Europe/Mediterranean container services during the first quarter of 2002.
   The two Asia carriers, who have already cooperated for years, are also moving from an arrangement based on reciprocal slot charters to a vessel-sharing agreement under which they each contribute vessels to joint services.
   The shipping line partners will pool a total of 20 new post-Panamax 5,500-TEU vessels (13 vessels of “K” Line and seven vessels of Yang Ming). The carriers said the planned service changes will enable them to offer a broader scope of service coverage and more competitive transit times in the transpacific and Asia/Europe/Mediterranean trades.
   “K” Line said the reshuffle will involve revising or fine-tuning existing operations while seeking a more efficient deployment of vessels, not launching additional services. Four transpacific weekly services and two Asia/Europe loops will be changed.
   The revised services will shorten the transit time from Hong Kong to Long Beach to 11 days and provide additional direct calls at Chinese ports. On the Asia/Europe route, the services will now extend coverage to Mediterranean ports via hub ports in the eastern and western Mediterranean.
   Yang Ming and “K” Line said the revised services, subject to final changes, will be:
   * The PSW-1/AES-1 U.S./Asia/Europe “pendulum” service, using 12 ships of 5,500 TEUs, replacing the current “K” Line “CALCO-A” transpacific link and the Yang Ming “Asia Express” Asia/Europe loop.
   This service will call at Long Beach (Sunday/Wednesday), Oakland (Thursday/Friday), Kobe (Tuesday/Tuesday), Shanghai (Thursday/Friday), Ningbo (Friday/Saturday), Hong Kong (Sunday/Monday), Yantian (Tuesday/Tuesday), Singapore (Friday/Saturday), an unnamed East Mediterranean port, a West Mediterranean port, a Benelux port, a German port, a U.K. port, a Benelux port, a West Mediterranean port, an East Mediterranean port, Port Kelang (Tuesday/Wednesday), Singapore (Wednesday/Thursday), Yantian (Sunday/Monday), Hong Kong (Monday/Wednesday), Xiamen (Wednesday/Wednesday) or Busan (Thursday/Friday) and Long Beach (Sunday).
   * The PSW-2 transpacific service, employing five vessels of 3,500 TEUs, replacing the current Yang Ming “PSW 2.”
   This service will have a rotation of Los Angeles (Saturday/Tuesday), Oakland (Wednesday/Friday), Yokohama (Monday/Tuesday), Keelung (Thursday/Thursday), Kaohsiung (Friday/Saturday), Hong Kong    (Sunday/Sunday), Kaohsiung (Monday/Tuesday), Keelung (Tuesday/Wednesday) and Los Angeles (Saturday). Unlike the existing PSW 2 service, the revised service will omit calls at Seattle.
   * The PSW-3 transpacific loop, using five ships of 3,500 TEUs, replacing the present “K” Line “CALCO-C” operation.
   The service will call at Long Beach (Saturday/Monday), Oakland (Monday/Wednesday), Tokyo (Saturday/Sunday), Nagoya (Monday/Monday), Qingdao (Thursday/Thursday), Shanghai (Friday/Sunday), Kobe (Tuesday/Tuesday), Nagoya (Wednesday/Wednesday), Tokyo (Thursday/Thursday) and Long Beach (Saturday).
   * The PNW transpacific service, deploying five vessels of 2,800 TEUs, replacing the current “K” Line “NOWCO-A” loop.
   It will have a rotation of Tacoma (Thursday/Friday), Vancouver (Saturday/Sunday), Portland (Monday/Tuesday), Tokyo (Friday/Saturday), Nagoya (Saturday/Sunday), Kobe (Sunday/Monday), Hong Kong (Thursday/Thursday),    Kobe (Sunday/Monday), Nagoya (Monday/Tuesday), Tokyo (Tuesday/Wednesday) and Tacoma (Thursday).
   * The AES-2 Asia/Europe service, using eight 5,500-TEU ships, replacing the “K” Line “Japan Express” service.
   This service will call at an unspecified Benelux port (Tuesday/Wednesday), a U.K. port (Wednesday/Thursday), a German port (Friday/Friday), Le Havre (Saturday/Sunday), a West Mediterranean port    (Thursday/Friday), Singapore (Tuesday/Wednesday), Hong Kong (Friday/Saturday), Kaohsiung (Sunday/Sunday), Kobe (Wednesday/Thursday), Nagoya (Thursday/Friday), Tokyo (Friday/Saturday), Kaohsiung (Tuesday/Wednesday), Hong Kong (Wednesday/Thursday), Singapore (Saturday/Sunday), a West Mediterranean port (Thursday/Thursday) and a Benelux port (Tuesday).
   By combining two single-trade services into the new 12-ship “PSW-1/AES-1” tri-continent rotation, “K” Line and Yang Ming will save one vessel.
   In addition to the planned service changes, “K” Line and Yang Ming recently announced that they will start taking space on the Asia/Pacific Northwest service operated by Hanjin Shipping.
   More service changes will likely follow when “K” Line, Yang Ming, COSCO and Yang Ming have concluded their planned global alliance agreement, announced in September.