HANJIN Shipping, K Line, MOL and Zim are to commence a new, jointly-operated service between the US east coast and the east coast of South America including ports in the Caribbean.

The new service is expected to commence in May, pending the approval of the Federal Maritime Commission.

The new deployment will cover a range of ports on the US east coast, including New York and Miami; the ports of Kingston-Jamaica, Puerto Cabello-Venezuela; several Brazilian ports from Fortaleza to Rio Grande; and a direct port call on the River Plate.

The new service will start with five 1,700 TEU class vessels.

There are also plans to add a sixth 1,700 TEU vessel. Adding another vessel to the string, the companies said, will allow the group to offer a fixed-day weekly service. Each party will contribute a minimum of one vessel to the service.

Both K Line and MOL are entering the US east coast-South America east coast trade for the first time, the companies said.