OOCL launches new Asia-USEC service

The ocean carrier’s new China East Coast Express 2 will connect ports in China and Southeast Asia with the United States East Coast via the Suez Canal.    Ocean carrier OOCL will introduce a new service connecting Asia with the United States East Coast via the Suez Canal, the China East Coast Express 2 (CEC2). The carrier said in a statement the CEC2 will offer a competitive 26-day transit time Cap Mep, Vietnam to New York.
   The CEC2 will commence May 30 with the sailing of ZIM San Diego from Da Chan Bay in China. The port rotation of the new loop will be Da Chan Bay, Yantian, Cai Mep, Singapore, Colombo, New York, Savannah, Norfolk, Singapore, and Da Chan Bay.
   According to ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting, the 8,440-TEU ZIM San Diego was one of several “extra loader” vessels – those not associated with a specific liner service – sent by ZIM from Asia to the U.S. East Coast via the Panama Canal to satisfy shifting cargo demands that resulted from West Coast Port congestion.
   OOCL said in a statement the new CEC2 loop is designed to “supplement [its] existing CEC service and enhance [its] product portfolio covering the Asia-U.S. East Coast markets.”
   The CEC, a G6 Alliance service on which ZIM currently purchases slots, is operated with 11 vessels with an average capacity of 8,567 TEUs, according to BlueWater Reporting. The full port rotation of the CEC is Hong Kong, Shekou, Yantian, Singapore, New York, Savannah, Chaleston, Norfolk, Jeddah, Singapore, Cai Mep, and back to Hong Kong.
   OOCL did not specify the number or size of vessel to be deployed on the CEC2, nor whether it would be joined on the new loop by its fellow alliance members. The other G6 Alliance carriers are APL, Hapag-Lloyd, MOL, NYK and Hyundai Merchant Marine.