EVERGREEN ADDS FIFTH TRANSPACIFIC SERVICE
Evergreen Line is restructuring its transpacific services and adding
capacity with the introduction of a fifth weekly service and larger ships to the trade.
Evergreen previously operated four weekly
transpacific services — round-the-world eastbound and westbound; Pacific/Far
East/Mediterranean;
Taiwan/Hong Kong/U.S. West Coast; and Hong Kong/Taiwan U.S. West Coast.
By June, there will be five — round-the-world
eastbound and westbound; Korea/Japan/U.S. West Coast; Trans-Pacific Northwest; Trans-Pacific
Southwest; and Hong Kong/Taiwan/U.S. West Coast.
The restructuring of the services by the Taiwanese
carrier includes the launch of a "Trans-Pacific Southwest" loop, with five of
its new "U-class" 5,364-TEU ships, and a "Trans-Pacific Northwest"
link, using three vessels of 5,364-TEU and two of 4,221-TEU ships.
The TPN service effectively replaces the former
Pacific/Far East/Mediterranean link, but iw will have bigger ships, for a net increase of
1,662 TEUs per sailing, or 86,400 TEUs a year, Evergreen said.
The TPS loop will call at Yantian, Hong Kong,
Kaohsiung, Los Angeles, Oakland, Tokyo, Osaka and Yantian.
The port rotation of the TPN service will be
Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, Osaka, Tokyo, Tacoma, Vancouver, B.C., Tacoma, Tokyo, Osaka,
Kaohsiung.
The Korea/Japan/U.S. West Coast is new and will use
five 1,810-TEU ships on a weekly service, but it will pick up two Japanese ports — Hakata
and
Shimizu — now covered by the eastbound round-the-world service.
By dropping those Japanese ports and Jeddah,
Evergreen will cut the round-the-world rotation from 77 days to 70 and eliminate one of
the
service’s eleven 4,229-TEU ships.