Ocean3 slows Asia-Europe FAL1 loop

The ocean carrier alliance has added an additional week to total transit times on its FAL1 service between Asia, Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East, according to ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting.    The Ocean3 Alliance has added an additional week to total transit times on its FAL1 service between Asia, Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East, according to ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting.
   The ocean carrier alliance, comprised of CMA CGM, China Shipping (CSCL) and United Arab Shipping Co. (UASC), has increased total sailing time on the FAL1 from 84 days to 91 days round as vessels slow steam one extra week between Shanghai and Xingang on the return leg.
   APL, which recently began purchasing slots on the FAL1 following the acquisition of parent company Neptune Orient Line by CMA CGM, said in a statement the service will void one sailing position commencing Xingang, China on Sept. 29.
   The port rotation of the FAL1 remains Southampton, Dunkirk, Hamburg, Rotterdam, Zeebrugge, Le Havre, Malta, Khor Fakkan, Dubai, Shanghai, Xingang, Dalian, Busan, Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, Yantian, Port Kelang, Algeciras and Southampton. APL, however, does not call the Mediterranean ports, according to BlueWater Reporting.
   The loop operates with 12 vessels, all from CMA CGM, with an average capacity of 16,367 TEUs, plus one void sailing.
   In addition to APL, slot purchasers on the FAL1 include COSCO, which recently merged with Ocean3 Alliance member CSCL at the behest of the Chinese government, Evergreen Line, FESCO, and CMA CGM subsidiaries ANL and U.S. Lines, which it plans to bring under the APL brand once the two companies are fully integrated.
   The Ocean3 Alliance currently operates two services connecting Asia with North Europe in addition to the FAL1 – the 12-ship 13,559-TEU average FAL23 and the 11-vessel 18,936-TEU average AEX7/AEC8 – and five that connect Asia with the Mediterranean – the Columbus, MEX, BEX, AMC1 and AMC4/Phoenician Express.