Maersk leaves Tacoma for Seattle
The world's largest box carrier Maersk Line is returning to the Port of Seattle's Terminal 18 this spring, 24 years after having left it for nearby Tacoma, reports said.
Maersk Line is also simultaneously moving calls from the Port of Los Angeles to Seattle.
An official statement attributed the move from Los Angeles to “potential congestion” in the Californian port.
Maersk will be calling at Seattle via an alliance with the world's third largest box carrier, French major CMA-CGM.
The weekly service, consisting of 13 ships with seven run by Maersk, is slated to call at Singapore, Hong Kong, Yantian, Shanghai and Busan starting May 14.
One local report said the new service comes “as a relief for the Port of Seattle, where cargo throughput went down 25% year-on-year last month.”
Portworld reported late 2007 that Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. (MOL) had decided to move its calls to the Port of Tacoma.
The move was especially 'painful' for Seattle since the Japanese carrier has been calling there ever since the first container facilities came up in the late 1960s.
The departure of MOL meant another major player was moving from Seattle to Tacoma, following K Line and NYK Line (Nippon Yusen Kaisha) for which the Port of Tacoma was building a dedicated $300 million terminal. (See story links)
The move was also a blow for APL Ltd. which owns Eagle Marine Services Ltd., the operator of Seattle's Terminal 5 where MOL's weekly container ships called.
Reports quoted sources saying that MOL had grown 'frustrated' waiting for APL to expand Terminal 5 with additional berths and new handling equipment like cranes.
According to Herald Ugles, president of the longshore workers' union - Local 19, the departure is taking place primarily because Washington United Terminals, the Tacoma facility MOL is moving to, had undercut Eagle Marine's rates.
It was not all gloom for Seattle however, with its port president John Creighton reportedly hinting at the arrival of two new major players after 2008 and officials promising to follow through on expansion plans for terminals 5, 18 and 30 to accommodate booming Asian freight.
In addition to Maersk's return to terminal 18 with the new Asian service in alliance with CMA-CGM, China Shipping Container Lines Co. Ltd (CSCL) signed a 30-year deal last year Seattle, bucking the trend of major carriers leaving for Tacoma.
Both Creighton and Seattle's new port chief Tay Yoshitani have accused Tacoma of “stealing its customers”, but Tacoma's port commission president Dick Marzano rebutted by saying that it was better for carriers like MOL and NYK to relocate within Puget Sound than to leave its waters entirely.
Maersk Line is also simultaneously moving calls from the Port of Los Angeles to Seattle.
An official statement attributed the move from Los Angeles to “potential congestion” in the Californian port.
Maersk will be calling at Seattle via an alliance with the world's third largest box carrier, French major CMA-CGM.
The weekly service, consisting of 13 ships with seven run by Maersk, is slated to call at Singapore, Hong Kong, Yantian, Shanghai and Busan starting May 14.
One local report said the new service comes “as a relief for the Port of Seattle, where cargo throughput went down 25% year-on-year last month.”
Portworld reported late 2007 that Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. (MOL) had decided to move its calls to the Port of Tacoma.
The move was especially 'painful' for Seattle since the Japanese carrier has been calling there ever since the first container facilities came up in the late 1960s.
The departure of MOL meant another major player was moving from Seattle to Tacoma, following K Line and NYK Line (Nippon Yusen Kaisha) for which the Port of Tacoma was building a dedicated $300 million terminal. (See story links)
The move was also a blow for APL Ltd. which owns Eagle Marine Services Ltd., the operator of Seattle's Terminal 5 where MOL's weekly container ships called.
Reports quoted sources saying that MOL had grown 'frustrated' waiting for APL to expand Terminal 5 with additional berths and new handling equipment like cranes.
According to Herald Ugles, president of the longshore workers' union - Local 19, the departure is taking place primarily because Washington United Terminals, the Tacoma facility MOL is moving to, had undercut Eagle Marine's rates.
It was not all gloom for Seattle however, with its port president John Creighton reportedly hinting at the arrival of two new major players after 2008 and officials promising to follow through on expansion plans for terminals 5, 18 and 30 to accommodate booming Asian freight.
In addition to Maersk's return to terminal 18 with the new Asian service in alliance with CMA-CGM, China Shipping Container Lines Co. Ltd (CSCL) signed a 30-year deal last year Seattle, bucking the trend of major carriers leaving for Tacoma.
Both Creighton and Seattle's new port chief Tay Yoshitani have accused Tacoma of “stealing its customers”, but Tacoma's port commission president Dick Marzano rebutted by saying that it was better for carriers like MOL and NYK to relocate within Puget Sound than to leave its waters entirely.