Cosco and China Shipping join Asia-Europe slot swap on 3 services

MAINLAND carriers Cosco and China Shipping (CSCL) are to start a slot-sharing deal in 2012 that will see China Shipping join three CKYH Alliance services as a slot buyer.

In the other direction, Cosco will take space on three services in which China Shipping is the predominant vessel operator, according to American Shipper. Cosco is the largest member of the CKYH Alliance, which said earlier that it would be partnering with Evergreen Line on a network of 12 Asia-Europe services from the second quarter of 2012.


The Cosco-China Shipping agreement affects the CKYH carriers` NE3, MD1, and MD2 loops and China Shipping`s AEX1, AEX7, and ABX loops.


The NE3 and MD1 loops are purely operated with Cosco ships while the AEX1 and AEX7 are operated mostly with China Shipping vessels.


the NE3 has a rotation of Tianjin, Dalian, Qingdao, Ningbo, Shenzhen-Yantian, Singapore, Rotterdam, Felixstowe, Hamburg, Antwerp, Guangzhou-Nansha, Hong Kong and back to Tianjin. It`s operated with 10 vessels (including most of Cosco`s largest ships) with an average capacity of 10,830 TEU. UASC also takes slots on the service.


The MD1 loop will call at Shanghai, Ningbo, Hong Kong, Shenzhen-Shekou, Singapore, Piraeus, Naples, Genoa, Barcelona, Valencia, Piraeus, Singapore, Hong Kong and back to Shanghai. The service is operated with eight vessels (all from Cosco) with an average capacity of 5,250 TEU. Schedules show at present that the service does not call at Barcelona and Valencia, but at Laverne. China Shipping already takes slots on that service.


The MD2 loop has a rotation of Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen, Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, Shenzhen-Yantian, Singapore, Port Said, Ashford, Genoa, Livorno, Marseilles-Fos, Port Said, Singapore, Hong Kong and back to Shanghai. The service is operated with nine vessels (five from "K" Line and four from Yang Ming, both members of the CKYH Alliance) with an average capacity of 6,753 TEU.


China`s Shipping AEX1 loop calls at Shanghai, Ningbo, Shenzhen-Yantian, Felixstowe, Hamburg, Rotterdam, Hong Kong and back to Shanghai. It`s operated with nine vessels (eight from China Shipping and one from Zim) with an average capacity of 9,030 TEU. CMA CGM and Evergreen take slots on the service.


The AEX7 loop has a rotation of Shanghai, Ningbo, Shenzhen-Shekou, Hong Kong, Shenzhen-Yantian, Port Kelang, Le Havre, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Zeebrugge, Port Kelang and back to Shanghai. It`s operated with 10 vessels (six from China Shipping, one each from CMA CGM, Evergreen, and UASC, and one currently undetermined) with an average capacity of 11,491 TEU.


The ABX loop has a rotation of Shanghai, Ningbo, Shenzhen-Shekou, Singapore, Port Kelang, Damietta, Istanbul, Constantza, Ilyichevsk, Damietta and back to Shanghai. It`s operated with eight vessels (four from China Shipping, and one each from "K" Line, Yang Ming, Wan Hai and PIL) with an average capacity of 4,303 TEU. Fesco currently takes slots on the service.


The slot share agreement with Cosco is likely intended to replace CMA CGM`s participation, given the French line`s pending partnership on the Asia-Europe trade with Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) from March.


Aside from China Shipping`s existing slot charter on the CKYH MD1 service, another CKYH member, Hanjin Shipping, takes slots on China Shipping`s own-operated Asia-Med AMX1 loop, while (as noted above) "K" Line and Yang Ming already participate in one of the three services affected by the Cosco-China Shipping slot swap.


Meanwhile, the slot swap gives Cosco access to several ports not currently covered in its Asia-Europe network - namely, Zeebrugge, Damietta, Istanbul, Constantza and Ilyichevsk.