Ocean carriers unveil skipped voyages around Chinese New Year

The 2M Alliance will skip various sailings on the Asia-North America and Asia-North Europe/Mediterranean trades, while Hapag-Lloyd unveiled skipped voyages between Asia and South America.    The 2M Alliance – comprised of Maersk Line and MSC – is temporarily reducing sailings on the Asia-North America and Asia-North Europe/Mediterranean trades, according to Maersk.
   In addition, Hapag-Lloyd announced skipped sailings on two loops between Asia and South America.
   Container carriers commonly “blank” voyages around Chinese New Year because of reduced demand for transport. Many factories in China and other Asian nations shut down for a week or more during the spring festival.
   In 2017, the first day of the Chinese New Year is Jan. 28.
   Between Asia and North America, Maersk said voyages will be eliminated during certain weeks on various services including the TP3, TP8, TP9, TP10 and TP12.
   In addition, on the Asia-North Europe/Mediterranean trade, Maersk said impacted services include the AE1, AE2, AE5, AE6, AE11 and AE20.
   “We aim to minimize the impact to our customers by securing alternative routings wherever possible,” Maersk said.
   Maersk said it will share more details about alternatives and update its system about revised routings by Jan. 13.
   Meanwhile, Hapag-Lloyd said it decided to skip one voyage each on its ASE1 and ASE2 loops between Asia and South America.
   Hapag-Lloyd jointly operates the ASE1 with Evergreen Line, COSCO, ZIM and Yang Ming, according to BlueWater Reporting. The German carrier jointly operates the ASE2 with Hamburg Süd, CMA CGM, COSCO and UASC.