This new service - called Japan - Europe Network – will connect Le Havre with Tokyo, after several years without any service to Japan. It will also serve other destinations (Kobe, Singapore, Hong-Kong, Yantian, Rotterdam, Hamburg and Southampton) in cooperation with the NYK Japanese shipping line (Nippon Yusen Kaisha). With a vessel of more than 8,500 TEU on every Thursday, the connection will provide an excellent transit time (33 days on export from Le Havre to Tokyo, 39 days on import from Kobe to Le Havre). This service strengthens the presence of Hanjin on Asian markets. It comes indeed as a complement of the Far East-Middle East-Europe Service already in operation to Le Havre, which connects the European destinations with South Korea, China and South-East Asia.
Development of the Asian destinations in Le Havre
The opening of this new service is going to increase the range of services available for Asian destinations via the port of Le Havre. Pascal Hamon, Hanjin Shipping France Marketing Manager, emphasises the growth prospects provided by Le Havre port place: Its advanced position on the European continent as the first port of call on export guarantees very competitive transit-times with Japan. Hanjin now runs two complementary services in Le Havre, thus providing a larger range of destinations in the Middle-East, Asia, China and Japan. A point of view shared by Hervé Cornède, Commercial and Marketing Director of the Grand Port Maritime du Havre (port of Le Havre Authority), who considers the launch of this service as «an additional asset for Le Havre shipping service supply » and who reminds that «around 60% of the trade of the port of Le Havre is carried out with Asia.
