Six Leading Container Shipping Lines Create new Far East-Europe Alliance

Six leading container shipping lines have agreed to create one of the largest vessel networks in the Far East-to-Europe trade lane.

The comprehensive agreement will bring together members of The New World and Grand alliances to create The G6 Alliance. New World Alliance members are APL, Hyundai Merchant Marine, and Mitsui O.S.K Lines. Grand Alliance members are Hapag-Lloyd AG, Nippon Yusen Kaisha and Orient Overseas Container Line.

The new partnership will create one of the leading networks in the Far East-to-Europe and Far East-to-Mediterranean container shipping markets with more than 90 ships in nine services calling at more than 40 ports in Asia, Europe and the Mediterranean. The integrated cooperation of these six lines will enable product and service features to be easily adjusted to market requirements.

“This is a milestone agreement that significantly improves service coverage in the Asia-Europe market,” member carriers said in a statement. “We will offer sailing frequencies and direct coverage that compete with anyone in the market.”

The new alliance is scheduled to begin operation by April 2012 with seven joint services operating between Asia and Europe and two services to the Mediterranean. It includes a direct Far East-Baltic service with calls at Gdansk, Poland and Gothenburg, Sweden as well as transshipment in Singapore.

Member carriers said the new alliance will be characterized by fast transit times, broad port coverage and the latest vessels, with capacities of up to 14,000 TEU. The new alliance will enable the most efficient integration of the largest ship sizes that will be introduced over the next 30 months.

The nine joint services will offer more frequent departures with daily sailings from the major Asian, European and Mediterranean ports. The schedule will include multiple weekly calls at Singapore, South China, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Hong Kong Shanghai and Southampton.

The ports of call also include Le Havre, Antwerp, Bremerhaven, Thamesport, the Bohai Bay ports of Dalian and Xingang, Ningbo, Qingdao, Xiamen, Kaohsiung, Cai Mep, Japanese ports, Colombo, Jeddah, and Port Said.

“The extensive port coverage, frequent sailings and very attractive transit times make the nine services a unique product with the best and most comprehensive set of connections on offer for all shippers in the Far East-Europe/Mediterranean trade,” members of the new alliance said.