APL, ANL and Hanjin Shipping have teamed up to offer a new weekly service covering Asia, Australia and New Zealand. To be launched on September 1, 2013, the New Zealand-Asia Express (NAX) will operate through a Vessel Sharing Agreement (VSA), with the three partners each contributing two container ships and allocating a combined capacity of up to 2,200 TEU for every weekly sailing.

Rotating from Singapore, Port Klang, Brisbane, Sydney, Auckland, Tauranga, Brisbane and back to Singapore, the service includes:

� Weekly calls and fast transits from New Zealand to major Southeast Asian ports via Port Klang and Singapore;

� Weekly calls and fast transits between New Zealand and Brisbane;

� Weekly calls from Southeast Asia to Brisbane and Sydney; and

� Connections through Southeast Asia for the Indian Subcontinent, Middle East and European destinations.

�The NAX will provide more competitive options to shippers moving dry and reefer cargoes between New Zealand, Australia, Asia and beyond; particularly New Zealand reefer exports destined for key Asian markets,� the VSA partners said in a joint announcement. �We are confident that trade between these markets will continue to expand and we look forward to supporting their growth with our new service offering.�

The NAX will commence its first southbound sailing from Singapore on September 2, and the first northbound sailing from Auckland on September 24.