Swire Shipping has entered into a space sharing agreement with AAL to boost its North Asia to Australia and Papua New Guinea service that will commence on December 14.

Swire Shipping general manager for Liner Trades Jeremy Sutton said this co-operation further strengthens Swire Shipping’s extensive Asia Pacific network.

“Swire Shipping continues to provide market-leading and flexible multi-purpose liner shipping solution to the Australasia market with a superior 18 to 20 day service frequency from key ports in Asia,” Mr Sutton said.

Port rotations will be optimised with calls in all the key Asian and Australian ports. The load ports are:

China: Tianjin, Qingdao and Shanghai

South Korea: Incheon and Pusan

Taiwan: Kaohsiung

Vietnam: Phu My

The destination ports are:

Australia: Brisbane, Newcastle, Melbourne, Geelong and Bell Bay

Mr Sutton said to provide increased capacity, Swire Shipping will be deploying two new S-Class multi-purpose vessels (30,000 dwt each) while AAL will deploy two A-Class heavy lift vessels on the route.

“The two carriers will remain independent with separate commercial and operations functions and continue to offer their respective customers high service levels.”

Swire Shipping has over 130 years of experience in providing shipping services in the Asia Pacific region and remains committed to being a leading provider of sustainable shipping solutions dedicated to customers across the region.

In July, this year Swire Shipping started a new express service between North Asia, PNG and Australia.

The North Asia Express (NAX) service provides a direct link between North Asia, Townsville in Australia and Lae, offering improved transit times and market- leading frequency service.

In November, Swire Shipping expanded its multipurpose liner service coverage in Tasmania with an additional port call to Tasmania’s capital, Hobart.

Mr Sutton said in a recently completed new building programme to renew and expand its fleet, 12 new multipurpose vessels (22,000- 31,000 dwt) have been deployed to Swire Shipping’s eco-friendly fleet.

From 2016, he says, Swire Shipping will deploy 31 multipurpose vessels and two container vessels, ranging from 5500 dwt to 31,000 dwt.

BACKGROUND 

Swire Shipping is the liner shipping division of the China Navigation Company (CNCo) and operates multiple liner trades in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, North America and the nations of the South Pacific, in addition to providing services to India, the Middle East and Europe.

Swire Shipping’s network of services operates a versatile fleet of multipurpose ships capable of carrying wide range of cargoes including containerised, refrigerated, project, breakbulk and heavylift cargoes.