Rival consortia cut capacity to share slack season Asia/ECSA loops

COMPETING shipping consortia are to rationalise weekly loops from Asia to east coast of South America during the winter slack season by reducing capacity 50 per cent each.

By slow steaming on trips the seven lines aim to match corresponding trips in order to offer a combined weekly sailing with the merger of two loops during the first quarter of the year, reports American Shipper.

Hanjin Shipping/Zim Lines/CCNI will extra-slow steam its ALX loop to make a roundtrip voyage of 84 days to match the NYK/"K" Line/PIL/Hyundai service of the same voyage time in their NHX/AESA 1 loop.

Port rotation will remain the same for each loop with some of the South American port destinations called on by an average of 14 days serviced by 12 vessels.