P&O NEDLLOYD, FARRELL AND HAPAG LINK IN MED/U.S EAST COAST TRADE

P&O NEDLLOYD, FARRELL AND HAPAG LINK IN MED/U.S EAST COAST TRADE    P&O Nedlloyd, its newly-acquired sister company Farrell Lines and Hapag-Lloyd will operate a joint weekly container service in the Mediterranean/U.S. East Coast trade as part of a new vessel-sharing agreement.
   The former Farrell service, which had a frequency of 8 days, will form the basis of the joint service. It will operate weekly from August, when the five existing Farrell U.S.-flag vessels in the service are joined by a sixth vessel provided by Hapag-Lloyd.
   The space charter agreement between P&O Nedlloyd, Farrell Lines and Hapag-Lloyd is subject to approval by regulatory authorities.
   The revised rotation of the service will be New York, Norfolk or Baltimore, Charleston or Savannah, Lisbon, Cadiz or Algeciras, Malta or Gioia Tauro, Alexandria, Haifa, Izmir, Malta or Gioia Tauro, Naples or Salerno, Leghorn or La Spezia, Cadiz or Algeciras and back to the U.S.
   The final port selection depends on negotiations with the various ports, P&O Nedlloyd said.
   Port calls at Saloniki, Greece, will be scheduled to service the requirements of the U.S. military and shipments of other bodies requiring U.S. -flag vessels, it added.
   With the introduction of the service, P&O Nedlloyd will withdraw in August from its slot-charter agreement with Maersk Sealand’s SZX U.S. East Coast/Mediterranean service.
   P&O Nedlloyd will market the service under the name Farrell Mediterranean Express Service — or FAMEX.
   For Hapag-Lloyd, the space charter agreement with P&O Nedlloyd and Farrell will enable it to provide a third U.S./Mediterranean service. Hapag-Lloyd already takes space on a U.S. Gulf/South Atlantic/Mediterranean loop run by Lykes Lines, Contship Containerlines, TMM Lines and partners. The joint AEX service of Hapag-Lloyd, P&O Nedlloyd, OOCL and NYK provides weekly sailings between Malta and ports on the U.S. East Coast.
   The revised Farrell service will remain one of the few direct services that connect U.S. ports to ports in the East Mediterranean.
   As the trade from the East Mediterranean to the U.S. becomes more focused on consumer goods, U.S. retailers require direct, fast and predictable services for the import of these goods, a spokesman for P&O Nedlloyd said.