Slowing Demand Prompts CKYH Med Service Suspension

10.10.2008 (10:54)

Container shipping lines participating in the CKYH alliance, namely Cosco Container Lines, "K" Line, Yang Ming Marine Transport and Hanjin Shipping, have decided to halt their weekly Asia-East Mediterranean Express (EMX) service, effective mid-October.

The service suspension is due to weakening demand on the trade that follows a port rotation of: Shanghai, Ningbo, Hong Kong, Shekou, Singapore, Ashdod, Piraeus and Thessaloniki, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai.

This comes despite Asia-Europe cargo volume registering a 7.5 per cent increase in the first seven months of this year, to 5.8 million TEU, while freight rates have been falling since August on the trade route, reports Lloyd's List.

It noted that aside from weaker demand amid the global financial meltdown, the deployment of bigger ships on the Asia-Europe/ Mediterranean trade has slowed loading and unloading activities at ports, leading to delays.

The last EMX service for the foreseeable future will be operated by Coscon's 3,400-TEU Ha Ni He, scheduled to arrive in Shanghai on October 8.

Two of the seven ships, ranging from 2,700 TEU to 3,800 TEU, used on the service and provided by Yang Ming will be redeployed on the Asia-Turkey (ADX) service, jointly run by Coscon and Yang Ming and "K" Line, as Coscon plans to remove two ships from the ADX route.

The report said that Yang Ming and "K" Line intend to cover the Asia-Israel/Greece trade by the Asia-Europe (AES 3) service that links up with their Mediterranean feeder network at Egypt's Port Said.

Another sign of the hard times facing the global maritime industry is the reduction in import cargo bound for the US pushing forward the suspension of the Asia-US east coast service of the CKYH Alliance by a month.

"K" Line said it had suspended its all-water (AWE) service since late September, which is one of its five strings on the Asia-US east coast route and jointly provided by Yang Ming, Hanjin and "K" Line.

So far "K" Line has said it will redeploy one of the seven 3,400-TEU ships to 4,200-TEU one used on the AWE on the Middle East trade, Hong Kong Shipping Gazette reports.
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