Geneva-based Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) is to launch a new service using five 1,200-teu (20 ft equivalent units) vessels on a 35-day rotation linking Asia to Australia from August 7.
The rotation will cover Osaka, Yokohama, Pusan, Shanghai, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Fremantle, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
'We are starting this service as it is the only missing link in our worldwide coverage,' MSC director Captain Pasquale Formisano said.
He said another new service would be launched from the United States to Brazil and Argentina from September 1, using six 1,200-teu vessels.
Speaking to reporters at MSC's first anniversary celebrations in Hong Kong, Mr Formisano said that the Asia-Europe service, launched in June last year, had handled 30,000 teu to Europe in the first six months.
'This year we expect to handle 80,000 teu, most of which is expected to come out of China,' he said.