NEW WORLD ALLIANCE, MAERSK SEALAND START JOINT ATLANTIC SERVICES

NEW WORLD ALLIANCE, MAERSK SEALAND START JOINT ATLANTIC SERVICES    New World Alliance carriers APL, Hyundai Merchant Marine and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, in cooperation with Maersk Sealand, are introducing three previously-announced joint transatlantic services.
   The first eastbound sailing of the weekly Atlantic Pacific Express service, operated with New World Alliance ships, was scheduled to be leaving Charleston on Oct. 14. Westbound, the first voyage will be on Oct. 19 from Rotterdam. The APX service, an extension across the transatlantic of the Asia/U.S. East Coast ECS service, will call Charleston, Norfolk, New York, Rotterdam, Felixstowe, New York, Norfolk and Charleston, before returning to the Pacific.
   The New World Alliance and Maersk Sealand are also cooperating with a TA2/Atlantic South weekly service and a TA3/Atlantic North weekly loop, which employ Maersk Sealand vessels.
   The TA2/Atlantic South service calls at Charleston, Houston, Savannah and Norfolk, Rotterdam, Bremerhaven, Felixstowe, Charleston, Houston, Savannah and Norfolk. The service, previously operated by Maersk Sealand on its own, will now omit calls at Boston.
   On the TA3/Atlantic North loop, New World Alliance carriers will offer the service from Le Havre, Felixstowe, Rotterdam and Bremerhaven to New York, Norfolk, Charleston and Miami and from Miami, Charleston and New York to Le Havre, Felixstowe, Rotterdam and Bremerhaven. The service also physically calls at Halifax, Nova Scotia; Manzanillo, Panama; Manzanillo, Mexico; Long Beach; Oakland and Asian ports, but these calls will only be marketed by Maersk Sealand.
   Maersk Sealand recently confirmed that it is adding a 12th ship to the TA3/Atlantic North service and introducing the call at Manzanillo, Mexico.
   CMA CGM, a new entrant in the northern Europe/U.S. trade, is also taking space on the three weekly services operated by the New World Alliance and Maersk Sealand, from Nov. 1.
   In addition to the three joint New World Alliance/Maersk Sealand transatlantic services, Hyundai will continue to take space on Mediterranean Shipping’s U.S. North Atlantic and South Atlantic/Gulf services until the end of the year, a spokesman for Hyundai said.
   The transit times and rotations of all the new transatlantic services are posted on the global shipping database ComPairData at www.compairdata.com.