Maersk Line and MSC, who make up the 2M network, have moved to snaffle up business that was previously controlled by defunct Hanjin Shipping.
Maersk Line is introducing a new service between Asia and the United States West Coast.
The first sailing is scheduled for 15 September.
“We are responding to increased demand in the transpacific. With supply chains disrupted, many customers are approaching us for transport solutions for their cargo. The TP1 service is a stable, long term solution to meet our customers’ needs,” said Klaus Rud Sejling, head of Maersk Line’s east-west network.
The TP1 service will be calling Yantian, Shanghai, Busan and Los Angeles/Long Beach. It will have six vessels with a capacity of 4,000 teu per week deployed.
The move is in response to Hanjin’s decision to seek court receivership eight days ago, a move that has triggered a global supply chain crisis.
Similarly, MSC has announced the introduction of a new transpacific service called Maple which will also start on September 15.
The new service will call at Busan, Shanghai, Yantian, Prince Rupert, Busan. The service will be made up of six vessels of 5,000 teu capacity.
In order to cover the anticipated high initial demand, the first two sailings will call Yantian, Shanghai, Busan, Long Beach.
Splash has been leading the way with coverage of the decline and fall of Hanjin Shipping – for our full archive on 2016’s biggest maritime story, click here.
