Shipping Line Service: Massport, Everglades, Stockton

Print this Article | Send to Colleague

Hanjin Shipping began direct calls at the Port of Boston with the Aug. 1 arrival of the 4,250 TEU container ship Hanjin Milano at Massport’s Conley Terminal. Port Everglades expects to gain an additional 30,000 containers from King Ocean’s consolidation at Sun Terminal of various Eastern Caribbean services that previously called another port. Effective Sept. 1, 2014, the Port of Stockton’s M-580 Marine Highway container-on-barge demonstration project will transition a weekly to an "as-needed" service.

Hanjin Asian Service Begins Boston Calls

Hanjin Milano’s inaugural call at Conley Terminal.
Photos/Massport

Hanjin Shipping began direct calls at the Port of Boston with the Aug. 1 arrival of the 4,250 TEU container ship Hanjin Milano at Massport’s Conley Terminal.

Hanjin is part of the COSCO-led CKYHE Alliance and will now call Boston directly as part of the AWE2 weekly service to and from Asia.

According to Massport, more than half of Boston’s container volumes move via the AWE2 service. This service began in March of 2002 and has since grown from just a few thousand TEUs to more than 100,000 TEUs in 2013, with Hanjin’s volume alone mushrooming 403 percent. During the first seven months of 2014, AWE2 service generated 59,065 TEUs, up 13 percent from a year ago.

Hanjin is now the second major global container shipping line to call the Port of Boston directly from Asia. COSCO has been providing direct weekly service to and from Asia since 2002. Later this month, Evergreen Line will also add a ship to the AWE2 service.

The beefed-up AWE-2 is an addition to the weekly services between Boston and the Mediterranean and North Europe offered by Mediterranean Shipping Co.

"This new ship is significant for the vitality of the port and a good sign for the future," said Port Director Deborah Hadden. "Hanjin’s decision to call the Port of Boston directly and put a ship into the rotation of the AWE2 service represents a higher level of commitment to Boston than we have seen in the past and an investment in the New England market. We welcome the Hanjin Milano to Boston and look forward to continuing to strengthen our partnership with all of the CKYHE partners."

Hanjin Milano working containers at Conley Terminal.
Photos/Massport

King Ocean Expands at Port Everglades

Port Everglades expects to gain an additional 30,000 containers annually as King Ocean consolidates several Eastern Caribbean services that previously called another port.

The additional services sail weekly from King Ocean’s Sun Terminal at Port Everglades to St. Maarten, St. Kitts, St. Barth, Nevis, Dominica, Anguilla, St. Lucia, Barbados, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Vincent, Suriname, Guyana and the Dominican Republic. These new services build on King Ocean’s existing services in Colombia, Venezuela and Central America.

King Ocean moved approximately 140,000 TEUs through Port Everglades during the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2013, and recently added a 7.3-acre Midport marine terminal to its existing 33.8-acre Southport terminal.

King Ocean has operated regular weekly multiple container cargo ship services from Port Everglades to the Caribbean, Central America, and the north coast of South America since 1994. The carrier specializes in various containerized and general cargos, including, but not limited to, raw materials, jewelry and clothing accessories, foodstuffs, refrigerated cargo, vehicles and parts, construction machinery and building materials.

"King Ocean is a productive container carrier/terminal operator at Port Everglades, generally exceeding port-wide throughput per acre," said Port Everglades Chief Executive & Port Director Steven Cernak, PPM®. "King Ocean’s services are also key to the port’s market penetration strategies, and are a significant factor in Port Everglades’ position as the number one South Atlantic seaport in containerized ocean cargo trade with the north coast of South America."

Stockton Transitions its Containers-on-Barge Demonstration Project to "As-Needed" Service

Effective Sept. 1, 2014, the Port of Stockton will be transitioning the M-580 Marine Highway demonstration project from a weekly to an "as-needed" service.

The service was introduced 14 months ago as "a viable alternative to trucking containers to and from the Central Valley and the Bay Area." According to the port, the service to date has: 

• Completed 116 voyages between the ports of Oakland and Stockton
• Eliminated 24,629 truck trips.
• Transported 7,259 containers
• Created 45 new jobs at the maritime terminal alone, with wages and benefits exceeding $4.5 million
• Reduced pollutants from the San Joaquin and Bay Area air basins by 5,977.8 tons, including 0.3 tons of reactive organic gases, 28.1 tons of nitrogen oxides, 2.4 tons of particulate matter, and 5,947 tons carbon dioxide/greenhouse gas emissions (GHG)

"This project has demonstrated tremendous air quality benefits, reducing air emissions by 80 percent and truck trips by nearly 25,000, making highways safer," stated Port Director Richard Aschieris. "The M-580 has significantly reduced associated maintenance costs as well. However, challenges remain as the Port of Stockton is the only operating underwriter of this regional project. During this initial period, we learned that the time it takes to build sustainable volumes was longer than anticipated."

The port says it already has invested more than $8 million of its own, non-tax supported funds in the demonstration project.

During the past several months, the port met with state and federal agencies to identify possible financial partners to assist in keeping the current level of service viable, but so far none have made a financial commitment toward the weekly operation of the project.

"What has been established during this successful phase is that this project needs to be a part of the goods movement system in California," said Port Commission Chairman Victor Mow. "With the congestion we experience on I-580, as well as the air quality and safety benefits of the M-580, we look forward to the day we can bring the weekly service back to benefit our communities."

The port says it continue the search for future partners in the public and private sectors during the next year and looks forward to continuing its relationship with the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Maritime Administration, California Air Resources Board, San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.