SIMIC

AN increasing number of newcomers to the long-haul container shipping routes have exited the transpacific and Asia-Europe lanes, reports London's Loadstar.

According to consultancy Linerlytica, Transfar Shipping, BAL Container Line and container maker China International Marine Containers (CIMC), which started a China-US west coast service in 2021, have withdrawn from the long-haul lane.



Loadstar has seen email correspondence with a shipper that stated that Transfar had withdrawn from the Asia-US east coast leg, but asserted the company was still offering Asia-USWC services.



Checks of vessel databases show that all but one of Transfar's owned ships have been chartered to other operators: the 2,872-TEU Windswept to Ellerman City Liners and two 1,800-TEU ships, Cat Lai Express and A Goryu, to Hapag-Lloyd.



Four panamax boxships Transfar initially fixed from Zhonggu Logistics are understood to have been moved to Safetrans Logistics, a start-up engaged in China-Russia shipping services.



BAL Container Line's holding company, LC Logistics, on May 5 submitted an updated prospectus pertaining to its listing application on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, stating net profit dipped year on year in 2022 to US$56 million, as volumes regressed to 355,363 TEU from 380,269 TEU in 2021.



BAL was originally an NVOCC focusing on intra-Asia, but like others, was enticed into the transpacific and Asia-Europe trades in 2021 by historically high freight rates. In June 2022, BAL signed a 12-month slot-charter agreement with Transfar's service between China and the US west coast and Mexico.



As the freight market reverts to pre-Covid levels, many opportunistic shipping lines have exited the now loss-making long-haul trades. In February, The Loadstar reported that TS Lines had called time on its Asia-Europe, Asia-USEC and China-Canada services.