Carriers continue to open new intra-Asia lines, specifically in Southeast Asia, the latest to do so being Evergreen Line. The Taiwan-based box liner said it will launch a weekly Vietnam-Singapore-Malaysia (VSM) service this month in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region in response to growing demand.
The dedicated feeder loop will utilize two A-type container ships of 1,164 twenty-foot equivalent units. The first sailing will start from Haiphong on May 10 and call at Ho Chi Minh City, Port Klang, Singapore, Tanjung Pelepas, and then back to Haiphong.
In addition to providing transportation services within its port coverage, this regional service will also connect to Evergreen’s global service network via its transshipment hubs in Singapore and Tanjung Pelepas.
Economic forecasts indicate strong momentum of trade growth in this region. According to IMF’s ”World Economic Outlook” report published in April 2015, the ASEAN economy looks set to grow by 5.2% and 5.3% in 2015 and 2016, respectively, surpassing its performance of 4.6% last year.
Moreover, the statistics of Vietnam’s General Statistics Office show that Vietnam’s economic growth reached 6.03% in the first quarter of 2015, the highest first quarter performance during the past five years. The positive indicators support expectations of steady cargo growth in intra-Asia trade.
OOCL’s new USEC sling
On the other hand, Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) is opening its China East Coast Express 2 (CEC2) service later this month to supplement it existing CEC service and expand coverage of the Asia-U.S. East Coast markets.
“The CEC2 will strengthen our service coverage, offering competitive connections from Cai Mep to New York in 26 days, as well as meeting the service network requirements of customers trading in this region,” said the company in a statement.
The port rotation is Da Chan Bay, Yantian, Cai Mep, Singapore, Colombo, (via Suez Canal), New York, Savannah, Norfolk, (via Suez Canal), Singapore, and Da Chan Bay.
The first sailing will be the Zim San Diego, scheduled for departure from Da Chan Bay on May 30.
Photo: Evergreen, Jeff Price
