MAERSK SEALAND INTRODUCES DIRECT XIAMEN TRANSPACIFIC LINK

MAERSK SEALAND INTRODUCES DIRECT XIAMEN TRANSPACIFIC LINK    Danish mega-carrier Maersk Sealand confirmed that it has added the small Southeast Chinese port of Xiamen to its weekly transpacific TP2 service.
   Previously, Maersk Sealand served Xiamen by transshipment in the transpacific trade.
   The addition of Xiamen on the TP2 service follows the recent restructuring of the service and the ending of direct calls on the U.S. East Coast. The service now employs six vessels of approximately 2,818 TEUs, instead of 10 ships previously.
   Maersk Sealand’s introduction of a direct transpacific service at Xiamen follows similar moves by China Ocean Shipping Co., China Shipping Group, Trans-Pacific Lines and Grand Alliance carriers OOCL, P&O Nedlloyd, Hapag-Lloyd and NYK.
   The revised rotation of the TP2 service is Long Beach, Oakland, Dutch Harbor, Yokohama, Nagoya, Busan, Naha, Hong Kong, Xiamen, Ningbo, Shanghai, Kwangyang, Busan, Long Beach, Oakland and back to Dutch Harbor.
   Information on all the transpacific services calling direct at Chinese ports and their comparative details and transit times are available from ComPairData, the global liner shipping database at https://www.compairdata.com
   Xiamen now has five direct services calling weekly in the transpacific market, according to ComPairData.