U.S./Venezuela/Brazil carriers restate space-charter pact

U.S./Venezuela/Brazil carriers restate space-charter pact    Hamburg Sud, APL, Lykes Lines and Evergreen Marine Corp. have filed a revised space-charter agreement with the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission concerning their cooperation in the trade between the U.S. East Coast and Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.
   Following the renaming of Crowley American Transport to Hamburg Sud, the space-charter agreement is now called “APL/Hamburg-Sudamerikanische Dampfschifffahrts-Gesellschaft/Lykes/Evergreen vessel-sharing agreement.”
   The German-based Hamburg Sud, which acquired the South American liner interests of Crowley in 1999, has also stopped using the brand name Columbus Lines for its South American services.
   The agreement allows Hamburg Sud to sell 300 TEUs a week to APL, 210 to Lykes Lines and 350 to Evergreen.
   The space-charter agreement is linked to a vessel-sharing agreement that involves Hamburg Sud and Maersk Sealand as vessel providers, and other carriers in the trade.
   Hamburg Sud, Maersk Sealand and their carrier partners operate two weekly services in the U.S./East Coast of South America trade, where they are the largest grouping.