Maersk, Hoegh U.S.-flag units in deal

Maersk, Hoegh U.S.-flag units in deal On the heels of A.P. Moller ' Maersk’s purchase last month of a
37.5 percent stake in Hoegh Autoliners, the U.S.-flag operations of the two companies — Maersk Line Ltd. and Alliance Navigation, respectively — are doing business together.
      Under a deal announced this week, two Hoegh/Alliance ships have been transferred from the Norwegian International Ship Register to the U.S. flag.
      The ships will be chartered and operated by Maersk Line in a round-the-world service with U.S. seafarers. They have also been added to the Maritime Security Program and Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement.
      The two ships are the first pure car truck carriers in the Maersk Line fleet, and by diversifying Maersk “can support its customers’   
growing demand for the transportation of vehicles, oversized, and non- containerized cargoes,” said Bill Kenwell, senior vice president and chief commercial officer.
      The Alliance St. Louis and Alliance Norfolk, built in 2005 and 2007 respectively, each have the capacity of 6,500 car equivalent units.
      Alliance also charters a third U.S.-flag ship, the Alliance New York, to Liberty Global Logistics.