Asian container lines mull revamp to South American services

Tokyo: Three leading Asian carriers are re-considering their arrangements on the East Coast of South America to Northern Europe trades.

K Line, China Shipping Container Line (CSCL) and Evergreen were all vessel providers as part of the EUSA service (along with Argentine carrier Maruba) that started up in April, 2007, but was aborted in April, 2008 after what one carrier called “a debacle”. One line manager said of EUSA: “It didn’t have a chance, as all the better contracts were already tied up with the existing carriers like Hamburg Sud, Maersk Line and MSC. It was a bloodbath really for the Asian carriers and Maruba.” But now CMA CGM and Maruba have joined services in a new SAFRAN service (with the first sailing from the Brazilian port of Santos on December 25) and so the Asian carriers are facing a dilemma. Although they still have slots with MSC and on CSAV’s Euratlan service, they might not be sufficient to handle their needs, particular in terms of reefer plugs. CMA CGM says it is launching SAFRAN to service the needs of the growing reefer exports from both Argentina and Brazil. The Asian carriers, particularly K Line, are understood to be keen to take a share of this profitable box trade.
Read More