CHINA SHIPPING EXPANDS IN TRANSPACIFIC

CHINA SHIPPING EXPANDS IN TRANSPACIFIC

   China Shipping Group, the expansionist Shanghai-based carrier, has launched another weekly transpacific container service, its fourth since entering the Asia/North America trade last November.

   The Asia America Central Service started loading in Shanghai on June 10 and has an initial rotation of Yokohama, Lianyungang (China), Qingdao, Shanghai, Hakata, Kobe, Los Angeles, Oakland and Yokohama. At the end of June, the service will call at Kwangyang, in South Korea, instead of Kobe, in Japan.

   The additional weekly service of China Shipping Group employs ships of 1,800- to 2,000-TEU capacity and will add about 100,000 TEUs in annual one-way capacity to the booming transpacific trade.

   In April, China Shipping started a weekly all-water Asia/U.S. East Coast service in cooperation with CMA CGM and P&O Nedlloyd, called the PEX or Asia America East service. The Chinese carrier recently started to exchange slots with Zim Israel Navigation, gaining access to the Zim Pacific Service transpacific loop.

   The first sailing of the new Asia America Central Service of China Shipping is scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles on June 25.

   China Shipping’s former Asia America Express service, which calls at Xiamen, Yantian, Hong Kong, Kobe, Los Angeles, Seattle, Kobe and Xiamen, has been renamed Asia America South.

   Detailed information on all the liner services operated by China Shipping are posted on the global shipping database ComPairData at http://www.compairdata.com .

   Since entering the deepsea liner trades in 1999, the Shanghai-based carrier has established itself as one of the major container shipping lines in the transpacific, Asia/Europe and Asia/Australia trades.