Three-line partnership on F-E route brings on bigger vessels

SHIPPING LINES Kawasaki
Kisen Kaisha, (“K” Line),
MISC and PIL will upgrade
their current Asia South Africa
service later this month.
The lines will bring on
larger vessels with extended
port coverage to include
China, Taiwan, Hong Kong
and Sri Lanka in its revised
rotation.
Seven containerships of
3300 - 3800TEU capacity will
be deployed on the service,
with “K” Line and MISC each
contributing three vessels and
PIL one. The fleet realignment
will be completed around June.
With a round-trip voyage
of 9 days, the service's port
rotation will be: Shanghai
– Ningbo – Kaohsiung
- Shekou - Hong Kong
– Singapore – Port Kelang
– Colombo - Durban – Cape
Town – Colombo - Port Kelang
– Singapore - Hong Kong
– Shanghai.
The Colombo call on both
eastbound and westbound
legs connects to the high
growth markets in the Indian
sub-continent as well as those
of the Middle East.
According to Janet
Henwood, commercial
executive at Freightmarine
Shipping, the SA agents for ‘K’
Line, the upgrade will make
it a significant player in this
fast-growing sea trade with an
almost three-fold increase in
capacity and six new ports as
direct calls.
“The current service
operates with five vessels of
1 300-TEU capacity,”
Henwood told FTW, “and only
has direct calls at Durban,
Cape Town, Singapore and Port
Kelang – hubbing through the
latter two ports to and from
the rest of Asia.”