United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) is expanding its coverage of Asia and the U.S. West Coast, including inland points in the U.S., by launching three trans-Pacific services in partnership with China Shipping Container Lines (CSCL).
Under its new AWN1 service, UASC will be a vessel provider in CSCL’s existing Asia-Pacific Northwest service (ANW1) from mid-May 2013. UASC will deploy two vessels with a nominal capacity of 4,250 TEUs (20-foot-equivalent units) on this service.
Another new UASC service, the AWS1, will serve the South China-Pacific Southwest trade as a joint undertaking by CSCL and UASC. Each carrier will deploy three 4,250-TEU-class vessels on this loop.
For the third service, dubbed the AWS2, the UASC will participate in the CSCL’s existing Central and North China and Korea-Pacific Southwest service (AAC1).
The port rotation for these services will be as follows:
AWN1: Nansha, Hong Kong, Yantian, Ningbo, Shanghai, Pusan, Seattle, Vancouver, and back to Nansha.
AWS1: Nansha, Yantian, Xiamen, Los Angeles, and Nansha.
AWS2: Qingdao, Lianyungang, Shanghai, Ningbo, Pusan, Los Angeles, Oakland, and Qingdao.
The inland points in the US will include Dallas, Houston, Memphis, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, Cleveland, Minneapolis and St. Paul, and Kansas City.
At the same time, UASC will offer connectivity to and from the Middle East through transshipment in Asia.
UASC’s existing Asia-U.S. East Coast service networks via the Panama and Suez Canal will remain unchanged, with the company offering a total of seven weekly sailings between Asia and the U.S. West and East Coast, an official company statement said.
On the other hand, Geneva-based Mediterranean Shipping Co. will start its own direct Asia-South America East Coast service mid-April following the conclusion of its slot charter arrangement with CSAV.
MSC’s new Ipanema service will deploy 11 ships in the 2,000-TEU class and will first set sail from Shanghai on April 18.
It will have a port rotation of Shanghai, Ningbo, Chiwan, Yantian, Singapore, Santos, Buenos Aires, Navegantes, Santos, Coega, Hong Kong, and back to Shanghai.
