Yang Ming to charter slots on MSC Europe/U.S. Gulf service

Yang Ming to charter slots on MSC Europe/U.S. Gulf service    Yang Ming Line said Tuesday it has reached agreement with Mediterranean Shipping Co. to charter slots on MSC’s Europe/U.S. Gulf service to New Orleans and Houston beginning in February.
   The new agreement will streamline Yang Ming Line's import and export transit services while providing customers with more efficient, seamless transportation, the carrier said in a statement.
   As part of the arrangement, YML will be discontinuing its current GASS and SGX services. MSC has deployed six ships on the Europe/U.S. Gulf route, offering a fixed-day, weekly service calling at Antwerp, Felixstowe, Bremerhaven, Le Havre, Houston and New Orleans.
   The new service will be called EGS (Europe/U.S. Gulf Service). YML's first eastbound EGS transit will be via the 'MSC Ingrid,' which is scheduled to arrive in Houston Feb. 19. The first westbound vessel will be the 'MSC Shanghai,' scheduled to depart Antwerp on Feb. 16.
   The new agreement replaces CKY’s (COSCO, 'K' Line and Yang Ming) previous space charter with the Grand Alliance-CP Ships, which is ending due to the realignment of tonnage with P&O Nedlloyd's withdrawal from the Grand Alliance.
   Agreement is subject to approval from all regulatory bodies.