Hapag-Lloyd and Hamburg Sud are restructuring their Epic service which plies the trade between Europe, the Middle East and India.
The two shipping lines plan to deploy six 4,000 TEU ships on a weekly frequency, with Hapag-Lloyd providing four of the box ships. The vessels each have 400 reefer plugs.
The first departure on the amended Epic service is scheduled for the beginning of May, a joint release said.
A report by AXS-Alphaliner News said that Hapag-Lloyd and Hamburg Sud presently co-operate with CMA CGM on two weekly loops, the Epic 1 and Epic 2, using six ships of 2,800 TEU and six ships of 4,000 TEU. CMA CGM is said to provide four ships of 2,800 TEU on the Epic 1, while Hapag-Lloyd and Hamburg Sud operate respectively one ship of 3,600 TEU and of 3,150 TEU.
On the EPIC 2, Hapag-Lloyd and CMA CGM each provide three 4,250 TEU box ships.
It said that after May CMA CGM is expected to go it alone by leaving the joint service.
In a related development, it said Hamburg Sud is taking delivery in 2008 of five chartered vessels of 4,298 TEU, the first of which, the Cap Gabriel, has been recently delivered and is set to join the revamped Med-ECSA Sirius/Seagull structure.
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