Four renowned shipping lines -- Goldstar Line Ltd, China Shipping Container Lines, Hamburg Sud and Hong Kong-based COSCO Line -- have joined forces to kick off the Australia East Asia Service (AES) at Westport in Port Klang near here.

The AES, a joint weekly service, offers direct connections to major ports in the Australia region via Westport, which is among the top five ports in terms of productivity.

Each partner in the new service would provide a vessel each.

The service began with an inaugural call at Westport on Feb 24, 2005 by Liberia-based MV Scotia, a vessel with a capacity of 1,700 TEUs, operated by Hong Kong-based Gold Star Line Ltd .

Westport said American President Line (APL) has combined forces with French Liner CMA-CGM to start the Red Sea Express (REX) to cater for the growing trade between East Asia and the Middle East.

The service would connect ports such as Shanghai, Chiwan, Hong Kong to major ports in the Middle East.

"The first vessel, which marked the inauguration call of the REX service at Westport, was CMA-CGM's M.V Engiadina on Jan 8, 2005," it said.

Presently, six vessel were deployed for this service.

With the 40-42 days of the rotation period, it said there would be weekly sailings to Westport.

The port also said with the addition of the REX service, it is expected to increase its volume by approximately 3,000 teus (twenty-foot equivalent units) per month.

"The commencement of these two new services at Westport Malaysia as its port of call in Port Klang, rightly illustrates the port's credibility and efficiency to meet the growing demands of its customers," it said.

BERNAMA, 2.3.2005