New World Alliance, CMA CGM, Norasia add Asia/Europe capacity

New World Alliance, CMA CGM, Norasia add Asia/Europe capacity

   New World Alliance carriers APL, Hyundai Merchant Marine and MOL, together with CMA CGM and Norasia, will start an additional Asia/Europe joint container service in July in response to rising market volumes.

   “Our ships have been full on this trade for some time and customers have been telling us they need more connections — particularly between South China and Europe,” said Ken Glenn, vice president for the Asia/Europe trade at APL.

   The “South China Express” service will have a port rotation of Hong Kong, Chiwan, Singapore, Salalah, Zeebrugge, Hamburg, Rotterdam, Singapore and Hong Kong. Its ships will head back to Europe immediately after calling Hong Kong and China, without proceeding to North Asian ports.

   This operation will differ from other Asia/Europe services in that it will use just seven vessels, ranging in nominal capacity from 4,600 TEUs to 5,500 TEUs, rather than the usual eight or nine ships used by carriers in the trade.