MOL expands, adds partners on Asia/ECSA

MOL expands, adds partners on Asia/ECSA    Liner carrier MOL has begun rotating in larger vessels on a service connecting Asia, South Africa and the East Coast of South America, the line said Wednesday.
   MOL also said it will charter space on the service, the CSW, to a consortium of lines — NYK Line, 'K' Line, Hyundai Merchant Marine and PIL. Current slot charterers on the CSW are Hamburg S'd and Alianca.
   MOL said in a statement it will phase in 10 newly built 5,600-TEU containerships through July 2012 on the service, which has operated with 13 vessels with an average capacity of 4,643 TEUs, according to American Shipper affiliate ComPair Data. The new vessels feature wider beams and shallower draft to allow for higher loading capacity in the shallow-draft ports of South America, MOL said.
   From July 9, the CSW rotation will also be tweaked slightly to omit a westbound call at the South African port of Ngqura. The service will still call Ngqura eastbound.
   The new rotation will be Xingang, Dalian, Qingdao, Pusan, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Santos, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Paranagua, Sao Francisco Do Sul, Santos, Rio De Janeiro, Cape Town, Ngqura, Singapore, Hong Kong and Xingang.