MSC reshuffles, expands Pacific services

MSC reshuffles, expands Pacific services    Mediterranean Shipping Co. is adding a third transpacific service and revising its two existing Pacific loops.
   As previously announced, the Swiss carrier is starting in August a weekly Asia/U.S. West Coast joint service with CMA CGM that will eventually employ ships of about 8,200 TEU capacities. The new “Pearl River Express” loop incorporates the former “TPX” service operated by CMA CGM, but with larger, new vessels.
   The Pearl River Express service will initially employ five vessels averaging 5,200-TEU capacities, of which one, the “CMA CGM Hugo,” will have a nominal capacity of 8,200 TEUs, according to ComPair Data, the global liner-shipping database. The other four ships of about 8,200 TEUs will be phased in by November into the Pearl River Express service.
   MSC is also revising its Asia/U.S. West Coast “Orient Express” loop by adding calls at Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, Busan and Tokyo, according to schedules published by MSC. The “New Orient Express” service will have a rotation of Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, Busan, Tokyo, Long Beach, Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, Busan and Tokyo.
   This means that the two former Asia/U.S. West Coast services operated by CMA CGM and MSC, respectively the “TPX” and “Orient Express,” will continue under new names, and with additional capacity in the case of the “TPX.”
   In a separate development, MSC's “Transpac Pendulum Service” operation, which provides an all-water U.S. East Coast connection, will stop calling at Long Beach. This service will therefore be dedicated to ports in Panama (Manzanillo), the Bahamas (Freeport) and the U.S. East Coast (Miami, New York and Savannah).
   The revised transit times and service profiles of the MSC and CMA CGM services are posted online at www.compairdata.com .