Rickmers-Linie, the Hamburg, Germany-based carrier of breakbulk, heavy-lift and project cargoes, has launched a new service linking North Asia with South America and the U.S. East Coast. The sailings will utilize four vessels, each with the capability of lifting 120-metric-ton loads, and featuring stern ramps for rolling cargo. The line will offer a monthly frequency in its new Rickmers NCS Service. Base ports include Moji, Kobe, Yokohama and Nagoya, Japan; Guayaquil, Ecuador; Cartagena, Santa Maria and Puerto Bolivar, Colombia; Guanta, Venezuela; Port-au-Prince, Haiti; Savannah, Ga.; Charleston, S.C. and Philadelphia, Penn. Additional ports can be called on inducement, the line said. For example, the schedule allows for calls in the Shanghai-Dalian range of Northern China, and in South Korea. Rickmers said the new service complements its existing Pearl String vessels, which sail eastbound and link Japan, China and Korea with the U.S. Gulf on the transpacific leg of a fortnightly, round-the-world schedule.
