MSC starts Oceania/Long Beach service

MSC starts Oceania/Long Beach service    Mediterranean Shipping Co. said Monday it will start a service linking Oceania with the U.S. West Coast and Panama, providing a first direct link on the trade for the world's second-biggest liner carrier.
   MSC said it will also use the new Oceania Express service to hub at Balboa, Panama, to connect cargo to destinations on the U.S. East and Gulf coasts, Europe, Central America, the Caribbean and South America.
   The rotation of the service, due to start up Oct. 5, will be Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Tauranga, Balboa, Long Beach and Melbourne. No details on vessel deployment were given.
   MSC said the service will feature southbound transit times from Long Beach to Melbourne of 17 days. That compares favorably to the few other services directly connecting Australia to Long Beach, which have transit times of one to two weeks longer, according to American Shipper affiliate ComPair Data.
   The service will compete with the PSW service (offered by a consortium of operators and slot takers, including Hamburg S'd, CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, and Maersk Line) and the Hapag-Lloyd-led WAN service (on which Hamburg S'd and CMA CGM subsidiaries participate).