Dubai-registered Emirates Shipping Line has confirmed that it has withdrawn from its last service calling at U.S. ports, the joint Asia Gulf Express with Israeli carrier Zim.
The AGX was started in June 2006, just a couple of months after ESL was established, and is the only liner service to offer direct connection from the Far East to the ports of Mobile, Ala., and Tampa, Fla. The last voyage showing on ESL's sailing schedule had the vessel St. Cergue calling in the United States at the end of March.
The weekly service used 10 ships (one from ESL) averaging 2,900 TEUs on a full rotation of Shanghai; Busan; Osaka; Yokohama; Cristobal, Panama; Kingston, Jamaica; Mobile; Tampa; Houston; Kingston; and back to Shanghai.
No one from Zim could be reached to see how it will react to ESL's exit.
ESL's departure from the AGX follows the end of the India North America Express (IDX) earlier this year, in which the carrier partnered with Zim, Shipping Corp. of India (SCI), OOCL and Evergreen Line.
The slowing U.S. economy and poor returns in the transpacific trade have caused a number of lines to reduce their U.S. capacity over the last 12 months or so although Jamshed Safdar, ESL's senior vice president, marketing, refused to rule out a return when the market picks up saying "never say never."
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