11 - 17 January 2001

Three carriers to launch Med-US service via Malta

Three leading international shipping carriers – P&O Nedlloyd, Zim Israel Navigation Co. and Hapag-Lloyd – will as from next month begin operating a fortnightly service between the Mediterranean and the US East Coast and Gulf Coast via Malta Freeport
The service will start in February with a 14-day frequency. It is expected that it will be upgraded from 14 days to weekly frequency in three to six months. All three partners will operate ships, each with a capacity of 1500 tons, in the new service.
The port rotation of the service will be New York-Charleston/Savannah-Miami-Houston-Charleston/Savannah then to Malta-Salerno/Naples Genoa/La Spezia-Fos-Barcelona-Lisbon.
According to P&O Nedlloyd, the service is being established to meet demand from shippers on both continents who require improved direct coverage of ports.
The additional capacity is required to ensure that the high volumes and further growth expected for 2001 will be properly covered, according to Pieter Bas Bredius, senior vice-president for P&O Nedlloyd’s transatlantic trades.
“The new service will fill a void which we used to cover with Sea-Land via the Vessel Sharing Agreement,” he said.
Adolf Adrion, managing director of Hapag-Lloyd Container Line said that with this new service, the company is offering its customers additional direct connections between the Mediterranean and the US. This will mean not only faster
service, but also a higher transport capacity for this quickly growing market.
Hapag-Lloyd said it plans to bolster its network of sales agents in the Mediterranean to deal with the expansion. The carrier’s Paris office will organise the boost in sales representation in the western Mediterranean, and the carrier’s Genoa office will handle agents in the eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea regions.