MSC has announced the reshuffle of its service network between Asia and Oceania aiming to provide faster and more reliable services to its customers in China, Southeast Asia and Oceania.
The world’s largest liner operator said the Wallaby service will be enhanced and reinstated as a standalone service, offering faster and more direct connections between Australia, New Zealand and North Asia.
The revised rotation will provide coverage of New Zealand ports, including Bluff, and a connection to the company’s global network via MSC’s main hubs in Hong Kong, Yantian, Shanghai and Ningbo.
The first sailing is scheduled to depart from Hong Kong on 19 August with the 2006-built container ship MSC Tania.
The full rotation of the updated Wallaby service will be as follows:
Hong Kong – Yantian (China) – Xiamen (China) – Shanghai (China) – Ningbo (China) – Sydney (Australia) – Melbourne (Australia) – Auckland (New Zealand) – Bluff (New Zealand) – Lyttelton (New Zealand) – Wellington (New Zealand) – Napier (New Zealand) – Tauranga (New Zealand) – Melbourne – Brisbane (Australia) – Hong Kong
Moreover, MSC will improve its Noumea service with the addition of Tauranga and Nelson calls, offering more options in New Caledonia and Fiji.
The new rotation of MSC’s Noumea service will be as follows:
Sydney (Australia) – Brisbane (Australia) – Noumea (New Caledonia) – Suva (Fiji) – Lautoka (Fiji) – Nelson (New Zealand) – Tauranga (New Zealand) – Sydney – Bell Bay (Tasmania) – Sydney
Lastly, the current Capricorn and Kiwi Express services will be temporarily suspended until further notice. The last Capricorn sailing will be from Singapore on 20 August, while the last Kiwi Express sailing will be from Thailand’s port of Laem Chabang on 20 August.
“For import shipments to Australia West Coast (Fremantle and Adelaide), we will continue to serve you via Sydney on our Australia Express service, while your export shipments will remain via Singapore,” noted MSC in its statement.