Sailings on China Express, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL) dedicated Japan-Korea-China ro/ro (PCTC) service, have been upped to three sailings a month because of a resurgence in trade between the three countries in vehicles, rolling equipment and non-containerized cargo (NCC).
Sailings are being offered from the Japanese ports of Kobe, Nagoya, Toyohashi, Gamagori, Hitachinaka, and Yokohama to Pusan and Inchon in South Korea and Tianjin (Xingang), Shanghai and Guangzhou (Xinsha) in China.
WWL, which inaugurated the service in 2004, is dedicating three ro/ro (PCTC) vessels to the service ' the 51,858 grt 1985-built MV Falstaff and 2 similar type of PCTC will be used, with carrying capacities at around 4,500 cars.
All three vessels are designed to carrying cars, buses and trucks, but they are also suited to transporting high and heavy loads, including construction and agricultural equipment, and break bulk cargoes such as power generation equipment, rail cars, and various project cargos.
Loads of between 100 tons and 200 tons can be wheeled over the stern ramps, and the ships have stern door widths of up to seven meters and deck heights of up to 6.2 meters enabling them to carry a wide variety of high and heavy cargoes.
The service also includes logistics and inland transportation solutions to better support customer requirements in China.
Yokohama will serve as the main trans-shipment hub for Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics' services from the United States and Oceania to the Far East Asian destinations and from Korea and China to various destinations worldwide.
With the flexibility of three ships Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics is also able to offer customers other port calls in the region if the volume is good enough to justify additional inducement calls.
President of Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics Asia, Richard Heintzelman said: 'China is the world's largest emerging market and we are determined to play a full and active part in providing timely transport services necessary to assist market growth in the region. The enhanced China Express service is a key to offering China connectivity with its biggest trading partners, Japan and Korea, as well as easy access to worldwide trading routes.'
