Consortium plans major port links to Mediterranean
SHIPPING lines Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK), Compagnie Maritime d'Affretement (CMA) and Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation (YML) have formed a joint service - the Med Club Express - linking the principal ports in the Mediterranean and the Far East starting from January next year.
According to a joint announcement, the three lines will form a consortium based on a mutual-space formula maintaining independent marketing operations as they exist, a total of nine 2000 TEU (20 ft equivalent unit) class container ships will be assigned - three vessels from each line.
The consortium will provide a 63 days turn-around, fixed-day, weekly service routing through Barcelona, Fos, Genoa, Dameitta, Jeddah, Singapore, Hong Kong, Keelung, Keihin, Nagoya, Kobe and then Keelung, Hong Kong, Singapore, Damietta, Genoa and Barcelona.
Double calls at Genoa and Damietta will constitute competitive transit time for both westbound and eastbound cargoes to and from the East Mediterranean.
NYK and CMA will provide feeder services in the East Mediterranean area via Damietta under existing arrangements.
However, the new partners will co-operate in the areas wherever possible, in a move to establish a feeder network with the highest quality in every direction.
A NYK spokesman said: ''We will continue to work together with our new partners in an effort to provide more effective and better service to all of our customers.''
