Three container carriers, APL, Mistui OSK Lines (MOL) and Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK), will jointly launch a new service between Asia and South America.

The first sailing of the new Asia-South America (ASA) service will commence on 22 May from South Korea’s Busan port. This latest service will replace the Southeast Asia 1 (SE1) network.

Eight post-panamax ships of about 6,000 teu will be deployed in the joint service. APL will operate six vessels while MOL and NYK will operate one vessel each.

The port rotation will be Busan, Shanghai, Chiwan, Hong Kong, Kaohsiung, Manzanillo, Lazaro Cardenas, Buenaventura, Balboa, Lazaro Cardenas, Manzanillo, Yokohama and back to Busan.

"By providing weekly sailings, competitive transit times as well as regional connectivity to Central America, West Coast South America and the Caribbean basin, the lines are confident that shippers would be well-served, in particular those who are moving refrigerated cargo from Latin America to the fast growing Asian markets," the lines said in a joint statement.