As shipping rates between the Far East and Australia have been rising, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) is set to relaunch its North Asia-ANZ Wallaby service starting today, August 19. This service will link several major ports including Hong Kong, Yantian, Xiamen, Shanghai, Ningbo, Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, Bluff, Lyttelton, Wellington, Napier, Tauranga, and Brisbane, before returning to Hong Kong. The initial voyage will be made by the 2,732 TEU MSC Tania departing from Hong Kong, with the service scheduled to operate on a 10-week rotation. It will employ a fleet of 10 ships, each with a capacity ranging from 2,700 to 5,000 TEUs. The decision to relaunch this service comes as Far East-Australia shipping rates have increased to approximately $1,800 per TEU, up from $1,400 per TEU in July. This rate increase is attributed to a mini rally in rates, driven by tight capacity on Australian routes following recent capacity rationalization efforts. To accommodate the new North Asia-ANZ Wallaby service, MSC will be withdrawing its Capricorn and Kiwi services starting August 20. The last sailings for these services will be carried out by the 4,253 TEU MSC Manu from Singapore and the 2,824 TEU AS California from Laem Chabang. The Capricorn service used to connect Tanjung Pelepas, Singapore, Jakarta, Fremantle, Adelaide, Melbourne, Bluff, Port Chalmers, Lyttelton, Napier, Tauranga, and Tanjung Pelepas, deploying seven ships with capacities between 2,400 and 5,000 TEUs. Meanwhile, the Kiwi service connected Laem Chabang, Singapore, Jakarta, Brisbane, Sydney, Auckland, Nelson, Wellington, Lyttelton, Port Chalmers, and Tanjung Pelepas, Singapore, and Laem Chabang.