UNITED ALLIANCE BIDS FOR DIRECT SOUTH CHINA CALL IN PACIFIC
The United Alliance of Hanjin Shipping, DSR-Senator and Cho Yang Shipping
has applied to the Chinese ministry of communications for the right to serve South China
direct in the transpacific trade.
The alliance aims to offer a direct eastbound China/U.S. service by
calling at Yantian with its "PS-Pendulum 1" weekly container service.
Vessels in the "pendulum" service currently call at
Singapore, Hong Kong, Kaohsiung, Los Angeles and Oakland, before sailing to Asia, Europe
and back to Asia again. A spokesman for Hanjin in Seoul said that the carrier plans to add
an eastbound Yantian call between
Singapore and Hong Kong "if and when the Chinese authorities approve the application.
The bid to obtain a permission to call at South China ports direct
instead of serving South China via Hong Kong is seen as crucial to compete in the thriving
China/U.S. trade.
The United Alliance is the only global alliance of containership
operators that does not currently offer a direct South China/U.S. transpacific service.
According to ComPairData, the global shipping database on the Internet
at http://www.compairdata.com, the Maersk Line/Sea-Land Service alliance and the Grand
Alliance each provide two weekly transpacific loops between South China and the U.S. The
New World Alliance operates three and the China Ocean Shipping Co./Yangming/"K"
Line alliance will add a third direct transpacific South China/U.S. link on Dec. 3.