Two trans-Pacific container services operated by THE Alliance that were suspended last year due to plummeting ocean freight rates will restart in the second quarter. The new capacity arrives as US imports from Asia show strong growth at the start of 2024 and trans-Pacific rates recover from 2023 lows.
Hapag-Lloyd said THE Alliance’s East Coast 4 (EC4) service will resume with the voyage of the 14,080-TEU YM Warmth, which is scheduled to arrive at Port of Norfolk on May 25. The EC4 service spans ports in Taiwan, southern China, Vietnam and Singapore, with US calls at Norfolk, Savannah, Charleston and New Jersey.
The EC4 will use a rotation of 13 ships operated by THE Alliance members Ocean Network Express (ONE) and Yang Ming, according to Sea-Intelligence Maritime Analysis’ latest weekly report. It’s unclear whether Hapag-Lloyd and HMM will also deploy ships or take slot charters, Sea-Intelligence added.
With some THE Alliance services from Asia to the US East Coast being rerouted via the Cape of Good Hope, the EC4 transit time from Singapore to Norfolk will now be 29 days, according to Hapag-Lloyd’s online vessel schedules. The EC4’s Suez transit would take 25 days, according to the service’s proforma schedule.
In addition, THE Alliance’s Pacific Northwest 3 (PN3) service will restart with the first voyage of the 13,600-TEU HMM Aquamarine, which is expected to arrive in Vancouver on May 14. The PN3 port rotation includes southern China, South Korea, Vancouver and Tacoma.
THE Alliance, which said in December that the two services would be restored as part of their 2024 network, suspended the EC4 and the PN3 in the fourth quarter of 2023 due to the rout in freight rates.
Details please refer to JOC news.
Source:
Angell, M. (2024b, March 19). The alliance restores two trans-Pacific Services as Asia imports jump. Journal of Commerce. https://www.joc.com/article/alliance-restores-two-trans-pacific-services-asia-imports-jump_20240319.html