ALAN PEAT THERE HAS been steady growth in Safmarine’s shipping service between Asia and North America since it was launched in 2001, according to Peter H Ehrenreich, regional executive for Asia. Known for its specialisation in the north-south trades, this east-west service heralded a new focus for the shipping line – and it has been gradually adding capacity to its space-sharing agreement with sister company Maersk Sealand. “We believe our ability to offer a tier one trans-Pacific product will be a successful formula for future growth,” said Ehrenreich. In the upgrade for 2006, Safmarine’s range of seven trans-Pacific strings will offer direct weekly calls to over 30 ports – and the line expects significant growth to come from Vietnam, China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. Currently the highest volumes of cargo on this trade move between China and the USA, followed by Japan to the US.
