NEW WORLD ALLIANCE ANNOUNCES DETAILS OF NEW ATLANTIC SERVICES

NEW WORLD ALLIANCE ANNOUNCES DETAILS OF NEW ATLANTIC SERVICES    New World Alliance carriers APL, Hyundai Merchant Marine and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines have announced the port rotations and vessel deployment of their new transatlantic agreement with Maersk Sealand.
   New World Alliance carriers confirmed that the pact, based on three joint weekly services, will become effective from mid-October, subject to approval by the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission.
   Two of the three vessel strings will be operated by Maersk Sealand and one by the New World Alliance.
   APL, Hyundai Merchant Marine and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, who currently have a small share in the transatlantic trade, said in a joint statement that they are doubling their combined ship capacity with their participation in the three joint services.
   The New World Alliance will run a weekly Atlantic Pacific Express (APX) service, to be operated with 12 3,000-TEU vessels. This will be an extension of the New World Alliance’s Asia/U.S. East Coast ECS service, to which the carriers will add three ships. The APX service will have an Atlantic rotation of Charleston, Norfolk, New York, Rotterdam, Felixstowe, New York and Norfolk before returning to the Pacific.
   Five Maersk Sealand, U.S.-flag ships of 4,614-TEU, commonly known as “Econships,” will provide a second weekly string. The port rotation of the service, called Atlantic South (ATS), will be Rotterdam, Bremerhaven, Felixstowe, Charleston, Houston, Savannah, Norfolk and back to Rotterdam.
   Maersk Sealand will continue to run its 11-ship Asia/U.S. West Coast/U.S. East Coast/northern Europe TA3/TP3 “pendulum” service, with vessels of 4,437-TEU capacity. The service has a transatlantic rotation of Miami, Charleston, Norfolk, New York, Le Havre, Felixstowe, Bremerhaven, Rotterdam, Halifax, New York, Norfolk, Charleston and Miami. The New World Alliance lines will not take space westbound to the port of Halifax.
   Under the agreement, APL, Hyundai and MOL will provide no all-water transatlantic service to and from U.S. West Coast ports.
   APL and MOL will withdraw from their current joint Atlantic services with Lykes Lines in about October. Hyundai will stop taking slots from Mediterranean Shipping Co.’s two weekly transatlantic services at the end of the year.