Lykes Lines in the U.S. and TMM Lines will launch a second service between the U.S. Gulf Coast and the East Coast of South America on June 27 when they begin operating three ships of approximately 1,700 TEUs every two weeks on a fixed-day rotation. The port rotation will be: Houston, New Orleans, Caucedo (Dominican Republic), Puerto Cabello (Venezuela), Imbituba, Santos, Vitoria Salvador, Vila do Conde (Brasil), Puerto Cabello, Cartegena (Colombia), Houston.
In a separate announcement, Lykes Lines said its year-old Asia-Canada Sprint service has benefited Alaska shippers and consignees. The weekly, fixed-day service sails from Vancouver to Alaska and on to Japan, China, and Korea before returning to Vancouver. Noting that this is the only direct container service between Alaska and Asia, Lykes Lines said the Vancouver-Alaska link helps avoid unloading and reconsolidating shipments from the U.S. Midwest that had taken place in Seattle/Tacoma. Those containers were then loaded onboard a ship bound for Alaska. Lykes says shipments from the U.S. heartland can be moved to Vancouver via rail or truck and loaded directly onto ships on the Asia-Canada Sprint for shipment directly to Alaska.
