In response to the growing trade demand especially between China and South America, PIL announced the launch of its fixed-day weekly container service linking Far East to the East Coast of South America. The service will be operated in partnership with Mitsui OSK Line (MOL) with a total of 11 ships of 2,800 TEU-capacity each, and will commence in July 2005.

The existing service of MOL (until today in Joint Service with P&ONedlloyd, this last in process to be acquired by MaerskSealand) is well established in the trade with good transit time and excellent schedule integrity. It has a comprehensive coverage in ECSA with direct calls at all major ports in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. The new service will enhance the existing service by providing direct calls at Shanghai and Shenzhen in China, besides direct calls at three ports in Japan as well as direct calls at Pusan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

PIL will be contributing 3 ships in the joint service operating with a round voyage of 77 days on the following port rotation:

Kobe -Yokohama - Nagoya - Pusan - Shanghai -Shenzhen- Hong Kong - Singapore - Durban - Santos - Buenos Aires - Montevideo - Sao Fransisco Do Sul- Paranagua -- Santos - Rio De Janeiro - Cape Town - Port Elizabeth - Singapore - Hong Kong - Kobe.

With Singapore as its hub, PIL's extensive service network will provide connection for cargo movement between ECSA and all other major ports in North Asia, China, South Asia, South East Asia and Australasia.

PIL has been active in the reefer trades in China, South Africa and Australasia. With a dedicated reefer team specialised in cold chain management and supported by a young reefer container fleet, PIL is in good position to participate in the strong export market of frozen and chilled products from South America. The new service to South America will deploy ships with high reefer capacity to meet the trade requirement.

PIL is not new to South America. In the eighties, PIL offered a break-bulk service between Asia and South America.

With a major presence in the Far East especially China, PIL services stretch from North Asia and South East Asia to as far as West, East and South Africa, Red Sea and other Middle East regions, and the Indian sub-continent. PIL also operates services from South East Asia/North Asia to New Zealand/Australia. PIL has recently launched new services from Far East to Europe as well as from Far East to Canada on the trans-Pacific.

Pacific International Lines (PIL) incorporated in 1967 has developed from a coastal ship-owner/operator in Singapore to become one of the largest shipowners in Asia. Today, it is ranked 21st amongst the top containership operators in the world. PIL has diversified into logistics related activities such as supply chain management, consolidation/distribution facilities, warehousing, container depot operations, trucking as well as having interest in ship-agencies worldwide, container manufacturing, marine engineering and real estate.

As of May, 2005, PIL owns and operates a fleet of 97 vessels with a total TEU capacity of about 122,987 TEUs. It has on order 14 container vessels with a total capacity of 33,952 TEUs to be delivered by April 2007. PIL also owns and operates a fleet of more than 249,053 TEUs of marine containers.

As a pioneer foreign shipping line that entered the China market in the 60's, PIL offers its customers five container liner sailings a week out of China. Its China network includes ten (10) fully licensed branch offices and twelve (12) representative offices. It jointly owns and operates logistics centres in Ningbo, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Wuxi and Xiamen.