Yang Ming Marine Transport (YM) has linked up with other carriers to upgrade and expand its intra-Asia network services, including upsizing its fleet capacity, for greater regional coverage.
Effective April 30, YM’s Pan-Asia Service II (PA2) is being jointly operated with Cosco Container Lines and Wan Hai Lines with four 4,250-TEU container ships.
Its port rotation is Xingang, Dalian, Qingdao, Shanghai, Fuzhou Jiangyin port, Hong Kong, Singapore, Port Klang, Penang, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Xingang. The round voyage takes 28 days.
For the Pan Asia Service (PAS), meanwhile, the box ships will be upsized to two 1,800-TEU container vessels in a joint operation with T.S. Line. The fleet change begins on May 7.
The PAS service rotation is Moji, Hakata, Busan, Kwangyang, Keelung, Taichung, Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, Shekou, Xiamen, Keelung, and Moji, with a round voyage of 14 days.
Similarly, the container ships for the Japan-Taiwan-Philippine Service (JTS) will be upsized to three 2,800-TEU container vessels from May 8.
The rotation of the JTS service is Nagoya, Tokyo, Chiba, Yokohama, Keelung, Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, Manila (South), Manila (North), Hong Kong, Shekou, Xiamen, and Nagoya, taking a round voyage of 21 days.
The container ships for the South East Asia Service (SEA) will likewise be upsized to two 1,800-TEU container vessels and operated independently by YM from the middle of May.
The service will make calls at Laem Chabang, Singapore, Port Klang, Jakarta, Singapore, and Laem Chabang for a round voyage of 14 days.
Yang Ming announced it will also have a South East Asia Service II (SEA2), a network cooperation with Orient Express Lines that will deploy two 1,800-TEU container vessels. The ports of call are Haiphong, Ho Chi Minh, Singapore, Port Klang, and Singapore, with a round voyage of 14 days.
It is also launching a new direct service from Thailand to Malaysia and Indonesia (TMI Service) through a slot exchange with Evergreen Line effective May 14. The ports of call will be Bangkok, Laem Chabang, Port Klang, Tanjung Pelepas, Jakarta, Singapore, and back to Bangkok, in a round trip that will take 14 days.
In related developments, YM held last month christening rites for the YM Evolution, a 4,662-TEU box ship, that were held at the CSBC Kaohsiung Shipyard in Taiwan.
The newbuild is the first of five container vessels of the same capacity being built for the container shipping line by CSBC Corp.
The eco-friendly ship is 259 meters long and 37.3 meters wide, with 400 reefer plugs and a draft of 12.8 meters. The vessel can cruise at a speed of up to 22.9 knots.
The YM Evolution is to be deployed in the CGX Service (China-Gulf express), making port stops at Shanghai, Ningbo, Kaohsiung, Xiamen, Shekou, Port Klang, Jebel Ali, Dammam, Port Klang, Singapore, and Kaohsiung before returning to Shanghai.
Photo: Namu Lim
