The G6 Alliance will suspend its Loop 3 service between the Far East and Europe “until further notice.”
The service is being put on hold “under consideration of the forecasted lack of improvements in the market environment in the Asia-Europe trade,” Hapag-Lloyd said in a September 3 press statement, speaking on behalf of the six-carrier consortium.
Loop 3 will have its last sailing on October 6, 2012 with the departure of the vessel OOCL Hamburg from Shanghai.
All ports will be covered by other services after the suspension of Loop 3, Hapag-Lloyd said.
The Hamburg-based carrier added that the alliance will be monitoring the market situation until it improves enough to allow the resumption of the Loop 3 service.
Earlier, the G6 Alliance announced the suspension of some sailings on a number of Asia-Europe services during the National Day Holidays in China next month.
The alliance consists of Hapag-Lloyd, NYK, OOCL, APL, Hyundai Merchant Marine, and MOL.
Maersk Line is also suspending its Asia-Europe sailings from October 1 to October 14. Affected are the AE5, AE6, AE7, and AE9 slings. Other container lines on the route are expected to suspend their services going into the winter season in an attempt to bolster freight rates amid weak demand.
Photo courtesy of Hapag-Lloyd
