[ K-Line·COSCO·YML New Transpacific Svc Will Start ..]

K-Line·COSCO·YML New Transpacific Svc Will Start From Late February
or March in 1998

New transpacific services to be oprated cooperatively from late Februa
ry or March by K-Line, COSCO and YML will feature six weekly sailings
between Asia and the West Coast of North America.
Employing a total of 34 vessels, the six new services will comprise th
ree by K-Line, two by COSCO and one by YML.
The first of K-Line’s services, the PSW, will operate with six 3,500T
EU ships and have a turnaround of 42 days. Originating in Port Kelang,
the subsequent rotation will be Singapore, a port in the Shenzhen are
a, Hong Kong, Kobe, Nagoya, Tokyo, Long Beach, Oakland, Tokyo, Nogoya,
Hong Kong and return to Port Kelang.
In its ASX service, which will use one 3,500TEU and four 2,900-TEU shi
ps making roundtrips of 35 days, K-Line will serve Hong Kong, Kaohsiun
g, Long Beach, Oakland, Kobe, Keelung and Kaohsiung before returning t
o Hong Kong. K-Line’s PNW service, meanwhile, will feature five 2,250
-TEU ships running from Kaohsiung to Hong Kong, Nagoya, Tokyo, Tacoma,
Vancouver, Portland, Tokyo, Nagoya, Kobe and back to Kaohsiung. Turna
round will again be 35 days.
For COSCO, its NEA Service will have a rotation of Xingang, Dalian, Qi
ngdao, Shanghai, Pusan, Kobe, Long Beach, Oakland, Yokohama, Kobe and
Xingang. The fleet employed will comprise five 2,716TEU ships and one
3,530TEU vessel operating with a 42-day turnaroud.
In its SEA Service, COSCO will use six 5,250TEU ships calling at Hong
Kong, Nagoya, Yokohama, Long Beach, Seattle, Vancouver, Yokohama, Kobe
, Hong Kong, Shekou and Hong Kong. Turnaroud in the SEA service will a
lso be 42 days.
Yangming, meanwhile, will commit six 2,900TEU vessels to its PSW Servi
ce which will again see roundtrips of 42 days. Ports of call will be K
aohsiung, Hong Kong, Keelung, Pusan, Los Angeles, Oakland, Tokyo, Kobe
, Pusan, Keelung and Kaohsiung.
In announcing the details of all six services, K-Line noted that the s
cheuling will allow it to make direct calls to Port Kelang in its PSW
Service, as well as to offer a North China service using COSCO’s NEA
loop.
K-Line also noted the possibilty of some changes to its partners’ rot
ations and that the call to a Shenzhen port by its own ships was await
ing approval by the relavant authorities.