Seoul: Korea Marine Transport Co (KMTC) and STX Pan Ocean are slated to begin a new service PHS (Pusan/Haiphong Service) on the South Korea-Vietnam route on February 15. KMTC will assign two of its own 1,000 teu ships, and STX Pan Ocean is participating through a slot charter. KMTC's existing South Korea-Vietnam direct service makes port calls only to Ho Chi Minh port, leaving cargo to/from Haiphong to be transshipped via Hong Kong. By launching PHS, it will offer a direct service between South Korea and Haiphong as well, thus reducing transit time. It is yet another service announcement that will come as a blow to Hong Kong's midstream operators - Evergreen this week announcing a direct call to Nansha at the expense of Hong Kong, for instance.
STX Pan Ocean's existing Vietnam service also calls at Ho Chi Minh, but the new service will mark its first regular service to Haiphong. [07/02/08]
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