COSCO, SINOTRANS EXCHANGE SLOTS IN ASIA/EUROPE TRADE

COSCO, SINOTRANS EXCHANGE SLOTS IN ASIA/EUROPE TRADE    China Ocean Shipping Co. and Sinotrans Container Lines Co., are set to exchange slots on their respective weekly services in the Asia/north Europe trade.
   The agreement will see 150 TEUs per week exchanged and will commence with “COSCO Shanghai” from Shanghai on Sept. 22, when Sinotrans will join COSCO’s CNEU service. COSCO will start to take space on Sinotrans’ CEX service with the arrival at Xingang of “Hanjin Bremen” on Sept. 23.
   The slot exchange represents the first such agreement between any of the Chinese government owned carriers, which also includes China Shipping Container Lines.
   Sinotrans operates three 4,038 TEU vessels on the joint CEX service with Hanjin Shipping. The CEX uses nine ships averaging 3,132 TEUs and has a port rotation of Hamburg, Rotterdam, Felixstowe, Singapore, Hong Kong, Xingang, Qingdao, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Hamburg, Rotterdam and Felixstowe. “K” Line, United Arab Shipping Co. and Senator Lines all take space on the CEX service.
   COSCO operates all eight vessels, averaging 4,197 TEUs, on the CNEU service with alliance partners “K” Line and Yangming Marine. The port rotation of the CNUE is Felixstowe, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Antwerp, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Qingdao, Hong Kong, Yantian, Singapore, Felixstowe, Rotterdam, Hamburg and Antwerp.