Taiwan-based ocean shipping company Yang Ming Marine Transport announced it has upgraded its Southeast Asia services and will enhance its India offerings as it strives to broaden its intra-Asia trade network.
Yang Ming said it launched a direct service from Singapore to Indonesia on August 9, 2014.
The new SS1 service, a cooperation with Advance Container Lines, will have port calls in Singapore, Semarang, and back to Singapore for a round voyage of seven days.
Meanwhile, it also added on August 15 the South East Asia Service II (SEA2), its independent operation using its owned 1,800-TEU (20-foot-equivalent unit) vessel.
The SEA2 has a port rotation of Haiphong, Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore, Port Klang, and Singapore with a round voyage of 14 days.
The carrier is also set to upgrade the capacity of its vessels plying the West India-China line, dubbed WIN, from August 31. The WIN service will be operated jointly with Nippon Yusen Kaisha, X-press, Hapag-Lloyd, and Wan Hai Lines.
WIN will make calls at the ports of Ningbo, Shanghai, Shekou, Singapore, Port Klang, Nhava Sheva, Pipavav, Colombo, and Hong Kong. Besides the WIN service, Yang Ming operates the CPX and CIX services to connect Indian and Pakistani customers.
Other shipping lines, on the other hand, have scheduled general rate increases to be put in place from September.
MOL Asia-Africa GRR
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) plans to implement a general rate restoration (GRR) on all kinds of cargo moving from Asia to Southern Africa and Mauritius effective from September 1, 2014, saying “this GRR action is essential for us to sustain our service level.”
From Asia (including the Indian Sub-Continent and the Middle East) to Southern Africa (South Africa, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe) and Port Louis of Mauritius, the GRR will be US$150 per 20-foot container and $300 per 40-foot unit.
MOL is also going to levy a GRR on the Asia-East Coast South America trade effective September 1.
Asia-ECSA cargo GRR is $750 per 20-foot dry unit and $1,500 per 40-foot dry container, and $1,000 per 40-foot RAD container.
OOCL SEA-Oz rate hike
Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) announced a new rate increase for its Southeast-Australia services.
Effective September 15, freight rates for traffic from Southeast Asia (Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Philippines, Indian Sub-Continent, Myanmar, and the Middle East) to Australia will be increased by US$300 per TEU and $600 per FEU for both dry and refrigerated cargo.
Hapag-Lloyd’s Asia-Arabian Gulf new rates
For its part, Hapag-Lloyd said it will increase rates effective September 1, 2014 for all cargoes and all container types from East Asia (excluding Japan) to the Arabian Gulf by US$200 per TEU.
Photo: JAXPORT
