Trade between Asia and the United States and South America is on the increase, and two separate slot deals covering the US trades are in the process of being put together by APL, CMA-CGM and Hanjin.

Exact details of the new agreements have just been filed with the US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC). According to FMC sources, there will be a new slot exchange deal between CMA-CGM and Hanjin to cover the Asia/US West Coast trade, and a new slot charter undertaking between APL and CMA-CGM covering the US East Coast and the Middle East.

Hanjin is to use a slot allocation on the CMA-CGM Asia/US West Coast service known as the Pearl River Express (PRX) service covering Fuzhou, Xiamen, Nansha, Hong Kong, Yantian, Long Beach and Fuzhou.

In return, CMA-CGM will have slots on the CKYHE Pendulum service known as the PM1, which covers the Mediterranean/Asia/US West Coast.

This particular agreement is with Hanjin, and concerns coverage of Vung Tau, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Pusan, Long Beach, Pusan, Qingdao, Shanghai and Ningbo.

In addition to these two new agreements, there will be a new slot exchange deal between APL and CMA-CGM. This undertaking is purely for CMA-CGM to ship aid cargo bound for East Africa from the US East Coast to Jebel Ali and Damietta on US-flag vessels operated by APL.

The shipments will be undertaken on the APL US-flag vessels operated on the AZX service.

In a separate set of agreements, the 2M Alliance lines Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping Co, together with G6 Alliance member line MOL (Mitsui-OSK Lines) are setting up a new joint service portfolio in July through the operation of two services on the Asia/South America and local domestic trades.

One of the services will replace an existing service operated by Maersk, CMA-CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, Hamburg-Sud, CSCL and Hanjin, and the other, a service operated by MOL (Mitsui-OSK Lines).

The first loop will operate with 12 x 9,000 TEU split 50/50 between Maersk and MSC with MOL (Mitsui-OSK Lines) purchasing slots and marketing the service as the SW2. Port coverage will be Pusan, Shanghai, Ningbo, Chiwan, Yantian, Hong Kong, Singapore, Santos, Paranagua, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Rio Grande, Paranagua, Santos, Ngqura, Singapore, Hong Kong and Pusan.

The second loop will operate with 10 x 5,600/6,300 TEU MOL vessels and be known as the CSW service. Maersk and MSC will purchase slots; port coverage will include South Africa on the eastbound leg: Chiwan, Yantian, Hong Kong, Singapore, Santos, Sepetiba, Cape Town, Durban, Singapore and Chiwan.

Separately, Mitsui-OSK Lines (MOL) is to offer a new west coast South America service through its own deployment on a newly-modified service scheduled to start in the first half of June to cover Balboa, Callao, Paita, Guayquil, Buenaventura and Balboa, with 2 x 1,300 TEU vessels.

The new service, known as the GPX, replaces an existing G6 joint service (APL, MOL, HMM) covering the USWC/WCSA trade known as the ACW service, and importantly connects with a series of G6 mainline Asia/WCSA services, including the newly-launched AMS service.

The GPX and AMS service connections will be offered over Buenaventura. The first GPX southbound sailing from Balboa will be on June 6 by the 1,350 TEU Magari, while the first AMS sailing from Hong Kong and Chiwan is expected to arrive at Buenaventura on June 20.

By Paul Richardson

Sea Freight Correspondent | London