Taiwanese shipping company Wan Hai Lines has collaborated with ONE (Ocean Network Express) to introduce the Asia Pacific 1 service, focusing on the Asia-US west coast route. This partnership involves optimizing Wan Hai’s AA3 service, adding ports such as Hai Phong and Los Angeles to its existing route. The service will see Wan Hai contributing five 13,000 TEU vessels, while ONE will provide two similarly sized ships.
Wan Hai, initially an intra-Asia carrier, entered the transpacific market in 2020 and has remained committed despite post-pandemic rate adjustments. The company expressed openness to initiating Asia-Europe services. In January, Wan Hai reported an almost 11% increase in revenue compared to December, reaching TW$9.25 billion ($295 million).
This collaboration aligns with speculation that Wan Hai could replace Hapag-Lloyd in THE Alliance by January 2025. Amid the Chinese New Year holiday, transpacific rates eased, but Shanghai-US west coast rates stayed just below $5,000 per 40ft, a significant rise from around $1,300 in February the previous year. Wan Hai’s potential inclusion in THE Alliance could be limited to transpacific services due to its fleet capacity of 590,000 TEU.