North America West Coast/Australasia carriers skip ports

North America West Coast/Australasia carriers skip ports    To lower their operating costs, the five carriers of the Pacific Coast Oceania Vessel Sharing Agreement will shorten the round-voyage times of both their weekly services and stop calling at three ports direct.
   Hamburg Sud, P&O Nedlloyd, Fesco, ANZDL and Maersk Sealand operate two joint services between the West Coast of North America and Australia, New Zealand, and islands in the Pacific.
   The new schedules will start during the second half of the first quarter, subject to obtaining regulatory authority, the carriers said.
   The change is designed “to counter sharply escalating ship operating costs” and will involve the suspension of direct port calls at Adelaide, Manzanillo (Mexico) and Portland, they added.
   The revised rotation of the Pacific Southwest string will be: Los Angeles, Tauranga (fortnightly), Melbourne, Sydney, Auckland (alternating with Tauranga), Suva (fortnightly), and Los Angeles.
   The revised rotation of the Pacific Northwest string will be: Los Angeles, Auckland, Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, Papeete (fortnightly), Honolulu (monthly), Oakland, Seattle (alternating with Vancouver), and Los Angeles.