Both local trade lines and mainline carriers are showing the initiative in service expansion on local and main haul trade routes.
Gold Star Line (GSL), TS Lines (TSL) and CNC are revamping their existing China/Vietnam/Cambodia service, presently marketed as the CVS service by GSL and as the CVC service by TS Lines and CNC. The service is being extended to include a new call at Bangkok (Port Authority of Thailand terminal), while existing calls at Nansha and Hong Kong in South China and Danang in central Vietnam will be dropped. The service will continue to deploy three 1,700/1,800 TEU vessels.
Under the new port rotation, the CVC/CVS service offer direct coverage of Ningbo, Shanghai, Shekou, Sihanoukville, Bangkok (PAT), Ho Chi Minh City and Ningbo. The new port rotation/coverage began in the first half of November with the deployment of the 1,809 TEU Green Sea.
In addition to offering new China-Thailand links, the revision of the CVC/CVS service will optimize the connection between central China and Cambodia.
Under the revised rotation, the transit time from Shanghai to Sihanoukville will stand at seven days, based on the proforma schedule.
Separately, COSCO has boosted its intra-Europe service coverage through the launching of a new shuttle service connecting the port of Vado Ligure, Italy, with Piraeus, Greece.
The new service, a shuttle connection known as the Vado Express (VAX), is operated by Diamond Line, a subsidiary of the COSCO Shipping Group that manages all COSCO intra-European connections.
The Vado Express operates with a 700 TEU local trade vessel named Atlantic South.
Among the priorities of this connection is the transit-time speed between the two container terminals, connecting Vado Gateway, which is owned by APM Terminals, with the main lines to and from the Far and Middle East, India, Oceania and the Eastern Mediterranean.
Vado Gateway was officially opened in December 2019 as the holding company of APM Terminals Vado Ligure, and is a joint venture between APM Terminals, which has a shareholding of 50.1%, together with Cosco Shipping Ports, which has a 40% shareholding, and Qingdao Port International, with a 9.9% holding.
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