ASIA – SOUTH AFRICA – SOUTH AMERICA – Zim Integrated Shipping Services issued a press release on Friday stating they had reached agreement with Hanjin Shipping, Hapag – Lloyd, Wan hai Lines and CCNI to cooperate on the service from South Korea, Singapore and Southern China via South Africa to and from Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina sharing vessel space and facilities.
Route sharing is likely to become even more popular with the major container carriers in the coming months as numbers of TEU remain consistently low compared to earlier years. Although such practices are often frowned upon by anti trust bodies they remain the only option for companies struggling to maintain service levels in a depleted market.
The service will sail weekly and contain eleven vessels all capable of carrying around 4200 TEU’s. Zim and Hanjin will supply three vessels each with two from Compania Chilena de Navegacion Interoceanica (CCNI) and Wanhai and the last from Hapag – Lloyd with all sharing cargo slot purchases. The group of five agree that the new service will be reflected in better service levels for customers from all concerned as each has specialised knowledge of the markets involved.
