The G6 Alliance is improving its service in the Asia-Europe trade with additional port calls to Gothenburg and Antwerp. The announcement follows an earlier advisory of four additional void sailings on the same lane.
The service enhancement features the upgrade of Loop 7 service to include port calls to Gothenburg and Antwerp, improved connection between Asia and Scandinavia, and a shorter transit time from Antwerp to Asia.
The new port rotation is Qingdao, Shanghai (Yangshan), Hong Kong, Yantian, Singapore, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Gdansk, Gothenburg, Antwerp, Southampton, Singapore, Yantian, and Qingdao.
The new rotation will be initiated by Hyundai with an expected time of arrival (ETA) Qingdao on July 13, ETA Gothenburg August 27, and ETA Antwerp August 30.
A couple of days earlier, the alliance announced the additional voiding of four Asia-Europe sailings “in response to changes in market demand.”
The void sailings are planned for the following services and weeks:
* Loop 6 service in week 36 (westbound ETA Kaohsiung September 3). The westbound Kaohsiung call and the eastbound Jebel Ali call will be added into Loop 7 in the week. The westbound Colombo and Nansha calls will be added into Loop 4 and the Fuzhou call will be added into Loop 5.
* Loop 7 service in week 37 (westbound ETA Qingdao September 7). The westbound Qingdao call will be added into Loop 4, with the newly added Gdansk call being covered by Loop 5.
* Loop 4 service in week 38 (westbound ETA Ningbo September 18). The westbound Le Havre call will be added into Loop 6.
* Loop 5 service in week 39 (westbound ETA Kwangyang September 25). The westbound Kwangyang and Busan calls will be added into other loops for this week.
Earlier this month, the alliance also informed the public it was cancelling four sailings between Asia and Europe from July to August, as the trade lane is well known to be suffering from plunging freight rates, overcapacity, and weakening trade.
The G6 Alliance members are APL, Hapag-Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant Marine, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Nippon Yusen Kaisha and Orient Overseas Container Line.
