Wan Hai, PIL enter Asia/Europe trade

Wan Hai, PIL enter Asia/Europe trade    Kaohsiung-based Wan Hai Lines and Singapore’s Pacific International Lines will enter the Asia/Europe container trade next month, with a joint service scheduled to start April 23 in Shanghai.
   The two Asian shipping lines enter the Asia/Europe trade as it continues to experience a phase of strong volumes and rising rates. Wan Hai and Pacific International Lines will operate eight ships of about 2,500-TEU capacities, much less than the average vessel size in this trade.
   The weekly service will have a rotation of Shanghai, Ningbo, Hong Kong, Shekou, Singapore, Port Klang, Rotterdam, Hamburg and Antwerp.
   Although mainly active in the intra-Asian trades, both carriers have branched out into other trades. Wan Hai entered the transpacific trade in 2000. Pacific International Lines now operates container services covering the Far East, the Indian subcontinent, Red Sea and Middle East Gulf ports, East Africa, South and West Africa, Australia and New Zealand.