Beginning in April, Hamburg Süd is launching a new service network between Asia and South America West Coast, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Concealed behind the well-known service names ASPA and ASCA will then be a completely new product to replace the present partnership with other liner shipping companies (Vessel Sharing Agreement) in this trade. Customers will benefit from additional direct connections, higher sailing frequencies, greater flexibility as well as shorter transit times. The existing Vessel Sharing Agreement between Asia and South America East Coast is not affected by the changes and is to continue until the end of 2018.
The four new ASPA and ASCA service strings will see the deployment of a total of 39 modern vessels with a slot capacity of 4,500 to 10,000 TEU and will call almost 30 key ports with several weekly sailings in the said markets. In Asia, the most important ports in China, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Singapore will be called. In Latin America, coverage ranges from Mexico, Panama, Colombia and Peru to Chile. Highlights for reefer customers are two weekly sailings from Chile to Asia as well as a direct service from Chile and Peru to Japan. One of the four new services additionally uses transshipment arrangements to link 24 ports in the Caribbean region with Asia, and vice versa. Furthermore, there is a connection to Hamburg Süd’s East Coast network via the north Brazilian port of Pecem.
The restructuring of the Pacific service strings to the South and Central American west coast and into the Caribbean does not involve any increase in capacity on the supply side. Nevertheless, thanks to the operational collaboration with Maersk as sole partner on these ship systems, Hamburg Süd will be able to respond much more flexibly and faster to market changes in the future as well as better handle spikes in demand than in the old Vessel Sharing Agreement.
“Our new network in this trade will occupy an exceptional position in the marketplace thanks to the very competitive transit times and outstanding connectivity. Our customers are receiving the high service quality they have come to expect from Hamburg Süd in combination with an unparalleled global network and capacity offering,” said Frank Smet, Chief Commercial Officer for Hamburg Süd, on the launch. “With the new services and thanks to the independence of this product – without the involvement of VSA partners – we can deliver what we love the most: flexibility and fast, tailor made direct connections which we develop with our customers.”