CHO YANG CUTS TRANSATLANTIC SLOTS BY 50%

CHO YANG CUTS TRANSATLANTIC SLOTS BY 50%

   Cho Yang Shipping has reduced its slot capacity in the northern Europe/North America trade by 50 percent, in both directions, and announced a decision to concentrate on direct U.S. East Coast ports only.

   The Korean carrier has served the transatlantic market as part of the United Alliance’s AWE-PDM Asia/North America/northern Europe “pendulum” service. The joint container service will remain unchanged and Hanjin Shipping and Senator Lines, fellow members within the alliance, will take the space no longer used by Cho Yang.

   K.H. Koo, managing director of Cho Yang in Europe, said that the capacity reduction was made for operational reasons. “Debts have nothing to do with the change.”

   Cho Yang will no longer market a service to and from feeder ports such as Boston and West Coast ports such as Long Beach. However, Koo said that Cho Yang will serve customers who have used these ports until the end of their service contracts.

   The AWE-PDM service calls eastbound at Oakland, Manzanillo (Mexico), Manzanillo (Panama), Savannah, Norfolk, New York, Felixstowe, Bremerhaven, Rotterdam and Le Havre. Westbound, the transatlantic rotation is Felixstowe, Bremerhaven, Rotterdam, Le Havre, New York, Norfolk, Savannah, Manzanillo (Panama), Manzanillo (Mexico) and Long Beach, followed by calls at Asian ports.

   Cho Yang’s scaling down of its transatlantic service follows its recent decision to stop operating four 4,500-TEU chartered containerships employed in the Europe/Asia/U.S. West Coast/Asia/Europe Pendulum 1 and Pendulum 2 services of the United Alliance. Cho Yang has off-hired the ships and returned them to the owners, after having failed to obtain lower charter hire rates.

   Cho Yang no longer operates vessels in the Europe/Asia/U.S. West Coast/Asia/Europe Pendulum 1 and Pendulum 2 services and it has become a slot charterer on those services.

   By contrast, the Korean carrier continues to operate ships in the United Alliance’s Asia/Mediterranean/U.S. East Coast/Mediterranean/Asia AMA service.