Evergreen Line Boosts Links to China

Taiwanese carrier Evergreen Line is teaming up with Chinese counterparts COSCO and China Shipping in launching a joint China-Surabaya Express (CSM) Service.

The decision stems from an increasing market demand resulting from significant trade growth between China and the ASEAN countries, Evergreen Line said.

The company has been very busy with initiatives aimed at boosting its service on the Intra-Asian trade, which included the most recently launched Vietnam-Singapore-Malaysia service (VSM).

The CSX service will employ four ships of 2,000-2,700 teu, including one each provided by Evergreen and CSCL and the remaining two by COSCO.

The first sailing is planned to depart from Qingdao on the 20th of May, with the following the port rotation: Qingdao-Shanghai-Xiamen-Shekou-Pasir Gudang (Malysia)-Singapore-Surabaya (Indonesia)-Singapore-Qingdao.

“The weekly service covers major ports from China in the north to Malaysia and Indonesia in the south, providing regular and convenient links for regional trade and connecting to Evergreen’s global service network via Singapore,” the liner said.

After the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) was established in 2010, bilateral trade volumes have continued to rise. According to the statistics published by the Gerneral Administration of Customs in the PRC, its import and export trade with ASEAN grew by 8.3% to USD 480.4 billion in 2014.

In addition, the ASEAN community has actively negotiated with China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand to establish the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). It is believed that this significant development will further encourage free trade and have the effect of driving cargo growth within the Intra-Asia trade, Evergren Line said.