APM Terminals Zeebrugge Regains Asian Service
The weekly Ocean Alliance NEU4 service, operated by French-based CMA-CGM, will link the port of Zeebrugge with the Asian ports of Tianjin, Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, and Yantian, China as well as Busan, Korea, beginning with the first call of the 13,380 TEU capacity APL Changi on May 16th. The NEU4 service is one of six Asia/North Europe services offered by the Ocean Alliance, which began operations on April 1st with CMA CGM, COSCO Container Lines, CMA CGM, Evergreen Line and Orient Overseas Container Line as members. The Ocean Alliance deploys approximately 350 container vessels with an estimated total container capacity of 3.5 million TEUs.
China Firm's First European Container Terminal Holding
China Shipping Terminal Development agrees to buy a 24 per cent stake in APM Terminals' Zeebrugge in Belgium. The move came six months after the firm, which is wholly owned by China Shipping Container Lines, expressed interest in taking a stake in the Zeebrugge facility, one of three terminals at the Belgian port, reports the South China Morning Post. The company will acquire its interest from APM Terminals, the ports division of Danish shipping, oil and aviation group AP Moller-Maersk, which owns 75 per cent. Shanghai International Port Group holds the remaining 25 per cent interest in APM Terminals Zeebrugge which it bought for €27.16 million (HK$274 million) in 2010.
