Three carriers will launch next month a joint service linking Asia, Mexico, and the west coast of South America.
APL, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), and Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) announced the introduction on May 22 of a new service network between the major trading hubs of Asia and key ports in Mexico, Colombia, and Panama.
The newly minted sling will go by the name Asia-South America Service (ASA) for APL, AMC (Asia Mexico Colombia Express) for NYK, and AMS for MOL.
It will replace APL’s current Southeast Asia 1 (SE1) service and also supersede MOL’s existing AME and MSX services, which MOL will no longer participate in from July 2015.
The joint service will deploy eight post-Panamax ships of about 6,000 twenty-foot equivalent units. APL will operate six vessels, while MOL and NYK will operate one vessel each.
In a joint statement, the carriers said Asia is an important market for exporters in Latin America.
“By providing weekly sailings, competitive transit times, as well as regional connectivity to Central America, West Coast South America and the Caribbean basin, the lines are confident that shippers would be well-served, in particular those who are moving refrigerated cargo from Latin America to the fast growing Asian markets,” it added.
A strong feature of the service offering is the particularly short lead time between Hong Kong and Manzanillo, Mexico, taking only 17 days, the fastest in the market.
The service is a weekly offering with a 56-day round trip schedule. Port rotation for the new ASA/AMC/AMS operation is Busan, Shanghai, Chiwan, Hong Kong, Kaohsiung, Manzanillo, Lazaro Cardenas, Buenaventura, Balboa, Lazaro Cardenas, Manzanillo, Yokohama, and Busan,
Photo: Richard Fisher
