Contship Joins MedPac Conference

Contship Containerlines has enhanced its presence in the Mediterranean-North American West Coast trade by joining the MedPac Conference, following its debut on the route almost two years ago. The fast-expanding container shipping line entered the trade in July 1999 through an agreement with d'Amico/Italia Line, gaining slots on the service which calls at Valencia, Livorno, Genoa, Cartegena, Long Beach, Vancouver, Portland and Oakland. The decision to join the Conference follows the improvement of the service from a fortnightly to a 10-day schedule, with the introduction of larger and faster ships. Contship Containerlines joins existing conference members d'Amico/Italia Line and Zim Israel Navigation. Contship Containerlines CEO, David J Halliday said "We are looking to further increase our presence on this important trade. Our agreement with d'Amico/Italia Line has given us an excellent platform to explore the future development of our brand off the U.S. west coast, as well as the East and Gulf coasts, and Mexico." Contship Containerlines has been in the trade between the Med, US Gulf and Mexico for more than 10 years and currently offers a nine-day service operated by five ships.