HAPAG-LLOYD CONFIRMS JOINING INTTRA PORTAL

HAPAG-LLOYD CONFIRMS JOINING INTTRA PORTAL

   Hapag-Lloyd Container Line confirmed that it has joined INTTRA, the multi-carrier container shipping Internet portal launched last year by Maersk Sealand, P&O Nedlloyd, Mediterranean Shipping Co., the Hamburg-Sud group and CMA CGM.

   Hapag-Lloyd is joining the Internet portal, at http://www.inttra.com, as an investor and as a participating carrier.

   The German shipping line said that it wants to make data exchange convenient for its customers by participating in a joint Internet portal, supplementing its own web site and electronic data interchange links.

   “All logistics suppliers, just like all importers and exporters, have their own electronic data processing applications with increasingly networked systems,” a spokesman for Hapag-Lloyd said.

   The portal offers shippers access to information provided by all participating shipping lines.

   “The standardization that this involves makes the information flow along the transport chain more transparent and comprehensive,” a spokesman for Hapag-Lloyd said.

   The German carrier said that INTTRA will initially provide cargo tracking, and will then extend its services to booking inquiries, schedules and direct bookings.

   All of INTTRA’s participating carriers so far are European-based shipping lines.