MISC withdraws from Grand Alliance Far East services

The shipping line MISC Berhad (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) has informed Grand Alliance partners that it will withdraw from services between Europe (incl. The Mediterranean) and the Far East with effect from January 1st, 2010. MISC does not operate with the Grand Alliance on the Transpacific or Transatlantic trades.

The greatly regret that MISC as a founding member of the Grand Alliance is withdrawing, but respect its decision,?commented partner lines Hapag-Lloyd, OOCL and NYK.

The withdrawal of MISC will not affect sailing frequencies, transit times or service structures. Nothing will change for our customers. They will continue to receive the customarily reliable service of the Grand Alliance partner lines in the future, noted Hapag-Lloyd, OOCL and NYK.

The fleet deployed by the Grand Alliance comprises about 140 vessels with capacities of between 2,900 and 9,000 TEU. MISC has so far provided seven units of these. e will be replacing these ships in the context of our normal cascading, stated the Grand Alliance.

The Grand Alliance, formed in 1998, is a leading integrated consortium in global container shipping. Its members are presently Hapag-Lloyd (Germany), MISC Berhad (Malaysia), NYK (Japan) and OOCL (Hong Kong).<Korea Shipping Gazette>