OCEAN carriers Hapag-Lloyd and Zim are boosting their transatlantic footprints with a joint weekly service between Turkey and the US east coast, beginning in mid-May.
Previously, both carriers have operated irregular services on the route, but increased demand and higher freight rates have encouraged the lines to commit six ships of 2,500-3,500 TEU for a weekly connection, reports London's Loadstar.
The Turkish market will be served from the ports of Izmit, Aliaga and Mersin, while in the US there will be calls at New York, Norfolk and Savannah, with an en route at Hapag-Lloyd's transshipment hub at Tangier.
We are responding to increased demand for container shipments between Turkey and the US east coast,' said Lando Schlese, director trade management Atlantic at Hapag-Lloyd.
Zim's executive vice president cross-Atlantic, Rani Ben Yehuda, added: 'The enhanced weekly ZCT [Zim Container Service Turkey] is part of our continued efforts to introduce agile, efficient and reliable solutions to emerging market needs.'
Hapag-Lloyd's brand for the loop is the TEX (Turkey East Coast Express) service and, according to Alphaliner, the carrier has already deployed its first ship, the 2,741 TEU AS Cleopatra.
The consultant said the other five vessels to be deployed on the service were yet to be confirmed and, in view of the present 'sold out' status of the containership charter market, both carriers will be obliged to juggle their fleet capacity to provide the tonnage.
According to Alphaliner data, Hapag-Lloyd will source the tonnage for the AT3 from a surplus of ships on its revamped Benelux-Baltic service, which has been downsized in response to Russian sanctions.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Hapag-Lloyd is preparing to launch its seasonal third North Europe to Canada loop at the end of next month. The AT3 loop will complement the North Europe to Montreal AT1 and AE3 services, which the German carrier operates jointly with OOCL as part of the long-standing St Lawrence coordinated services.
The seasonal AT3 loop will call at St John, New Brunswick, instead of Montreal, which Hapag-Lloyd said had the advantage of being uncongested and able to provide good hinterland connections.
SeaNews Turkey
Previously, both carriers have operated irregular services on the route, but increased demand and higher freight rates have encouraged the lines to commit six ships of 2,500-3,500 TEU for a weekly connection, reports London's Loadstar.
The Turkish market will be served from the ports of Izmit, Aliaga and Mersin, while in the US there will be calls at New York, Norfolk and Savannah, with an en route at Hapag-Lloyd's transshipment hub at Tangier.
We are responding to increased demand for container shipments between Turkey and the US east coast,' said Lando Schlese, director trade management Atlantic at Hapag-Lloyd.
Zim's executive vice president cross-Atlantic, Rani Ben Yehuda, added: 'The enhanced weekly ZCT [Zim Container Service Turkey] is part of our continued efforts to introduce agile, efficient and reliable solutions to emerging market needs.'
Hapag-Lloyd's brand for the loop is the TEX (Turkey East Coast Express) service and, according to Alphaliner, the carrier has already deployed its first ship, the 2,741 TEU AS Cleopatra.
The consultant said the other five vessels to be deployed on the service were yet to be confirmed and, in view of the present 'sold out' status of the containership charter market, both carriers will be obliged to juggle their fleet capacity to provide the tonnage.
According to Alphaliner data, Hapag-Lloyd will source the tonnage for the AT3 from a surplus of ships on its revamped Benelux-Baltic service, which has been downsized in response to Russian sanctions.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Hapag-Lloyd is preparing to launch its seasonal third North Europe to Canada loop at the end of next month. The AT3 loop will complement the North Europe to Montreal AT1 and AE3 services, which the German carrier operates jointly with OOCL as part of the long-standing St Lawrence coordinated services.
The seasonal AT3 loop will call at St John, New Brunswick, instead of Montreal, which Hapag-Lloyd said had the advantage of being uncongested and able to provide good hinterland connections.
SeaNews Turkey
