THE Alliance carriers -- Hapag-Lloyd, Yang Ming, and Ocean Express Network (ONE) -- have been relocating their trans-Atlantic operations from Bremerhaven to Hamburg. The four weekly services involved -- AL1, AL2, AL3, and AL4 -- now connect northern Europe with the US East Coast and the US Gulf. 

The AL4 service effectively replaced the AX2 service that was part of the former G6 Alliance, which included Hapag-Lloyd. The new service added Mobile to the previous service’s rotation, which included the Gulf ports of Altamira and Veracruz in Mexico, and Houston and Mobile in the US. Mobile officials had been seeking a North Europe service to join an existing one operated by 2M Alliance partners Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Co., and to balance the port’s expanding Asian business.