Cosco, Evergreen Combine Services

Cosco Container Lines and Evergreen Marine will combine their existing joint ESA and FAX services linking the Far East, South Africa and east coast of South America into a single new weekly ESA service.

The carriers said the move aims to minimize the impact of soaring bunker prices and is a response to deteriorating market conditions in the trade.

The service will comprise eleven 3,500-TEU vessels, four from Cosco and seven from Evergreen.

The MASS 0816W, the first vessel in the new service, will depart Shanghai on July 6.

Port rotation is Shanghai, Ningbo, Kaohsiung, Yantian, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tanjung Pelepas, Durban, Cape Town, Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Paranagua, Santos, Durban, Singapore, Hong Kong and back to Shanghai.

The service will offer fixed-day weekly departures.