Norasia starts independent Asia/North Europe loop

Norasia starts independent Asia/North Europe loop    Norasia will commence on May 18 an Asia/North Europe container service independently of CMA CGM, its longstanding partner in the trade.
   The Asia Middle East Express (AME) service will initially employ nine ships of about 4,000-TEU capacities. Contrary to its earlier practice, the Hong Kong-based carrier will not share vessels with other carriers to operate this service.
   A spokesman for Norasia said its parent company Compania Sud Americana de Vapores will introduce newly built containerships into the AME service, which will employ vessels of 5,500 TEUs in the first half of 2006. The new loop will add some 200,000-290,000 TEUs in annual one-way capacity to the trade.
   The AME service will replace Norasia’s participation in the FAL joint service with CMA CGM in the same trade, which employs CMA CGM tonnage.
   The new operation will directly call northern Europe without a stop in the Mediterranean, a move that should speed up its Asia/North Europe transit times. However the service will have port calls in the Red Sea and the Middle East on the return leg to Asia.
   The service will have a port rotation of Xingang, Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen, Hong Kong, Yantian, Port Klang, Le Havre, Hamburg, Rotterdam, Zeebrugge, Felixstowe, Jeddah, Jebel Ali, Yantian and Xingang. The transit times of the service are posted on ComPair Data, the global liner shipping database, at https://www.compairdata.com.