SIX LINES REVAMP EUROPE/AUSTRALASIA/NORTH AMERICA SERVICES

SIX LINES REVAMP EUROPE/AUSTRALASIA/NORTH AMERICA SERVICES    Six of the main container shipping lines in the Europe/Australasia/North America trades have agreed to an extensive restructuring of existing services, starting in November.
   CMA CGM, Contship Containerlines, Hamburg Sud, Hapag Lloyd, Marfret and P&O Nedlloyd will replace five existing services with two fixed-day weekly contra-rotating round-the-world operations employing 22 vessels.
One service will deploy 10 new 4,100-TEU ships sailing from Europe via the Suez Canal to Australia and New Zealand, returning via the Panama Canal and the U.S. East Coast to northern Europe.
   Contship, a brand of CP Ships, and P&O Nedlloyd will provide vessels for the service. While the carriers are reviewing the final rotation, the tentative port rotation is Tilbury, Hamburg, Rotterdam, La Spezia, a Mediterranean hub port, Fremantle, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Auckland, Napier, Port Chalmers, a Caribbean hub, Savannah, Philadelphia, New York, Zeebrugge and Tilbury.
   The second service will sail from Europe to the U.S. East Coast, then transit the Panama Canal en route to the South Pacific islands, New Zealand and Australia. It will return to Europe via ports in South East Asia and the Suez Canal.
   The six carriers will provide 12 ships of 2,200 minimum capacities for the service. Tentative rotation is Tilbury, Hamburg, Rotterdam, Le Havre, New York, Norfolk, Savannah, a Caribbean hub, Papeete, Auckland, Noumea, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Fremantle, Singapore, Port Klang, Jeddah, east and west Mediterranean hub ports, La Specia and Tilbury.
   The new services will result in faster transit times and improved sailing frequencies compared to existing patterns, which deploy 34 smaller, older and less-efficient ships.
   The vessels in the service will also provide significant reefer capacity for Australia and New Zealand producers of temperature-sensitive cargoes.
   The carriers will continue to compete with each other and independently market their services.
   The services, subject to regulatory approval, will begin in November with the westbound sailing of the 'Contship Auckland' from Auckland and the eastbound sailing of the 'P&O Nedlloyd Remuera' from Auckland.