FOUR CARRIERS RESIGN FROM TWRA

   Four long-standing members of the Transpacific Westbound Rate Agreement have resigned from the the agreement.

   Sea-Land Service, Maersk Line, OOCL and "K" Line are moving outside the westbound conference on May 1, leaving only two conference members — NYK Line and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines.

   A spokesman for TWRA said that the departure of the four lines was caused by different factors, including the introduction of shipping deregulation on May 1, the depressed state of the transpacific market and the difficulty of dealing with large shippers of commodities within a conference.

   The departure of the four major conference lines, following the earlier resignation of APL and other carriers from the conference, raises serious questions about the ability of TWRA to continue to operate.

   Sea-Land Service, Maersk Line, OOCL and "K" Line remain in the Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement, alongside most of the other transpacific carriers. A spokesman for the agreement, which has no authority to agree on rates, said that WTSA may become the main forum for information-gathering in the trade.