MOL, APL, NYK launch joint service between Asia and South America

Ships will call Mexico, Colombia and Panama.    MOL, APL and NYK will start a new joint service between Asian ports and ports in Mexico, Colombia and Panama.
   The service will use eight post-panamax ships with capacity of about 6,000-TEU each. Six of the ships will be provided by APL and one each from MOL and NYK.
   In a joint statement, the carriers said, “By providing weekly sailings, competitive transit times, as well as regional connectivity to Central America, West Coast South America and the Caribbean basin, the lines are confident that shippers would be well-served, in particular those who are moving refrigerated cargo from Latin America to the fast growing Asian markets.”
   Port rotation for the new service will be Pusan, Shanghai, Chiwan, Hong Kong, Kaohsiung, Manzanillo, Lazaro Cardenas, Buenaventura, Balboa, Lazaro Cardenas, Manzanillo, Yokohama, Pusan.
   The first sailing will commence with a yet-to-be-determined vessel departing from Pusan on May 22.
   MOL said it will call the new string the “AMS” service; APL will call it the “ASA” service; and NYK will call it the “AMC.”
   APL said the new loop will replace its old “SE1” service, while MOL said it will replace its existing “AME” and “MSX” services.
   According to ocean carrier schedule database BlueWater Reporting, the SE1 is a currently active G6 Alliance loop that will terminate after the May 7 sailing of the APL Florida from Singapore. The G6 carriers operate the service with eight vessels with an average capacity of 6,350 TEUs. The port rotation of the SE1 is Singapore, Chiwan, Kaohsiung, Los Angeles CA, Manzanillo (MX), Lazaro Cardenas, Los Angeles CA, Yokohama, Kaohsiung and Singapore. 
   MOL’s last sailing on its AME service, a slot agreement on Hapag-Lloyd’s Asia Mexico Express string, will be the vessel Maullin departing Ningbo May 25. The AME is operated with eight ships with an average capacity of 6,546 TEUs. The service has a port rotation of Ningbo, Shanghai, Qingdao, Busan, Yokohama, Ensenada, Manzanillo (MX), Lazaro Cardenas, Ensenada , Yokohama and Ningbo.
   The MSX is a joint service also operated with Hapag-Lloyd, and MOL’s schedules indicate the service will continue at least until the beginning of June, BlueWater Reporting said. The service currently operates with three vessels with an average capacity of 6,768 TEUs. The rotation of the MSX is Manzanillo (MX), Buenaventura, Callao, Paita, Guayaquil/Puerto Bolivar and Manzanillo (MX).
   Late last year, the German-owned Hapag-Lloyd acquired the container business of Chilean carrier CSAV.