Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. said it is putting an end its weekly Asia/North Europe East West Express Service (EWX) and will instead increase its slot charter agreement on a service operated by China Shipping Container Lines.
The decision to end the EWX comes at a time of slowing Far East/Europe volume growth and rapidly shrinking freight rates from the influx of new tonnage. The EWX started in January using four ships taken from the joint Zim/Evergreen Lines Asia/U.S. East Coast AUX service, which was cancelled at the end of 2007 due to the same downward market pressures in the Asia/North America trade.
The last EWX voyage shown on the long-term sailing schedule on Zim's Web site is Zim Genova (840) departing Shanghai on Oct. 4. The service had been using nine vessels averaging 4,083 TEUs on a rotation of Shanghai, Xiamen, Hong Kong, Shekou, Port Kelang, Rotterdam, Bremerhaven, Antwerp, Southampton, Port Kelang, Shekou, Hong Kong, Xiamen and Shanghai.
Effective from the arrival of CSCL Le Havre at Ningbo on Oct. 18, Zim will increase its slot capacity on China Shipping's AEX1 service to 3,750 TEUs. The AEX1 uses eight ships averaging 7,700 TEUs calling Ningbo, Shanghai, Shekou, Yantian, Port Kelang, Felixstowe, Hamburg, Antwerp, Nansha and back to Ningbo. CMA CGM and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line (IRISL) also take space on the service.
Zim has a series of 8,200 to 10,000-TEU newbuild vessels that it will phase into the Asia/Europe trade during the second half of 2009.
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