ZIM Ditches Far East-North Europe Service

zoom Izraeli container shipping company ZIM has stopped its occasional, approximately monthly, sailings between North Europe and the Far East, DynaLiner reports. The sailings helped the Israeli carrier maintain a marginal presence in the market after it formally left nearly a year ago when the three vessels it contributed to the China Shipping-dominated AEX1 service were withdrawn due to incurring losses. The company started these sporadic sailings in June 2014, using ships of up to 10,000 TEU, and offering the lowest rates on the market. ZIM will now deploy its same 8,400 to 10,100 TEU excess ships in a similar infrequent set-up between the Far East and the U.S. East Coast. Currently, there is quite a firm demand on this route because of the U.S. West Coast ports troubles between port workers and employers.