Mexican authorities seize cocaine from PIL containership

The illegal narcotics were discovered in a container on board the 4,253-TEU Kota Lukis, which was docked at the Port of Manzanillo, Mexico, Singapore-based Pacific International Lines confirmed in a statement.    Authorities in Mexico discovered around 136 kilograms of cocaine aboard a Pacific International Lines (PIL) containership docked at the Port of Manzanillo Oct. 15, the Singapore-based ocean carrier has confirmed in a statement.
   The illegal narcotics were found in a container on board the 4,253-TEU Kota Lukis that was booked by Wan Hai, which also provides vessels on the same service, and loaded in Buenaventura, Colombia, according to PIL.
   The company said the matter is under investigation by the relevant local authorities and the ship has already departed Manzanillo on its regular schedule.
   According to ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting, the Kota Lukis serves on the jointly operated ASA/WS2 loop from PIL, Wan Hai, Yang Ming, Evergreen Line and COSCO, which connects Asia with Mexico, Central America and the West Coast South America. The service operates with 10 vessels – four from Wan Hai, three from PIL and one each from Yang Ming, Evergreen and COSCO – with an average capacity of 4,574 TEUs.
   The full rotation of the ASA/WS2 is Kaohsiung, Shekou, Hong Kong, Ningbo, Shanghai, Manzanillo (MX), Lazaro Cardenas (MX), Puerto Quetzal, Buenaventura, Guayaquil, Callao, Paita, Manzanillo (MX), Busan and Kaohsiung.