NYK revamps services linking Asia, Latin America
Nippon Yusen Kaisha said Wednesday it is restructuring its MAREX service, which links Asia with Hawaii and Central America, and its ALEX service, which connects Asia with Latin America.
The two services will be integrated into one service, named ALEX- NEO, and will be linked to a circular express service, named MAREX- NEO (WCCA Express), which will link the U.S. West Coast with Mexico and the West Coast of Central America.
In order to ensure coverage of ports that are part of the MAREX service, ALEX-NEO will make a direct call at Honolulu on both eastbound and westbound voyages from/to Asia. Cargo to and from countries in Central America will be transported via Manzanillo, Mexico, using the MAREX-NEO service. Cargo to and from countries in Latin America will continue to be transported via the ALEX-NEO service.
“We decided to make this service modification to adjust capacity in response to recent changes in the market. However, the new service to/from Latin America will actually be enhanced to meet with the needs of customers by offering direct call to Ningbo,” the company said. “Moreover, the new MAREX-NEO (WCCA Express) service will ensure stable transport for customers shipping to and from Central America.
The ALEX-NEO service will deploy 11 ships with average capacity of 2,500 TEUs in a fixed-day weekly service, with each loop taking 77 days to complete. Port rotation is Tokyo, Busan, Shanghai, Ningbo, Keelung, Hong Kong, Nagoya, Yokohama, Honolulu Manzanillo, Puerto Quetzal, Buenaventura, Guayaquil, Callao, Iquique, Valparaiso, Callao, Manzanillo, Honolulu and Tokyo.
The MAREX-NEO service will deploy three ships with average capacity of 1,700 TEUs in a fixed-day weekly service in a 21-day round-trip loop. The rotation will be: Los Angeles, Manzanillo, Puerto Quetzal, Acajutla, Corinto, Puerto Caldera, Puerto Quetzal, Manzanillo and Los Angeles.
The ALEX-NEO service commences eastbound March 11 from Busan and westbound March 12 from Buenaventura. The MAREX-NEO (WCCA Express) service commences to North America March 21 from Acajutla and to Central America April 2 from Los Angeles.