THE PARTNERS in the A3 consortium, ANL, COSCO Shipping and OOCL, will add a seventh ship to the A3N loop in July, upsize the existing fleet and include Ningbo in the port rotation.
A3N covers Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan and calls Melbourne, Port Botany and Brisbane on a weekly basis, currently using six ships of 5,816 TEU to 6,358 TEU, with four provided by ANL/CMACGM and one each by the other partners. Under the new arrangement ANL/CMA CGM will contribute a fifth vessel.
The first new vessel will be ANL’s 7,111 TEU ALS Hercules, which COSCO advises will join A3N at Busan on 1 July. The first of the added Ningbo calls will be exactly a week later.
ANL said the additional vessel will assist in delivering greater schedule reliability and support greater cargo volumes. Including a Ningbo stopover will give A3 two sailing per week, as the A3C service also calls there.
The full rotation will thus become Yokohama, Osaka, Busan, Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, Kaohsiung, Melbourne, port Botany, Brisbane, Yokohama.
ANL claims the southbound transits from Kaohsiung are the fastest in the market, while COSCO notes that A3N will offer the fastest Ningbo-Melbourne connection while A3C has the fastest Ningbo-Port Botany leg. OOCL is highlighting that A3N remains the only direct weekly service from East Coast Australia to Yokohama and Osaka. “With northbound calls into Pusan and Qingdao, it is the top service for Australian exporters of dry and reefer cargo to Japan, Korea, and North China,” the line said.
ANL CEO Shane Walden. Image: ANL
“With increased capacity and a new port of call, Australian importers and exporters will benefit from the enhancement to OOCL's Asia-Australia Northern Express (A3N) service,” COSCO said.
Meanwhile, ANL CEO Shane Walden has been appointed as Australia’s Business Champion for Timor-Leste, continuing his long history of positive engagement with one of Australia’s closest partners and neighbours.
“Mr Walden has a strong connection to Timor-Lest through his work with ANL,” the Australian Embassy in Dili said in a statement.
“As Business Champion, drawing on his experience advancing economic connectivity, he will work with Timor-Leste to support its economic goals – including deeper regional economic integration.”