THE Alliance made its first call to the Port of Philadelphia’s Packer Avenue Marine Terminal (PAMT) this morning as part of its Northern European, AL1 (Atlantic Loop) service. THE Alliance, short for Transport High-Efficiency Alliance, is one of three major shipping alliances. The shipping lines who make up THE Alliance include: Hapag-Lloyd, K-Line, Mitsui OSK, NYK and Yang Ming.
The arrival of the M/V YM Essence with a capacity 4,600 TEUs (containers), is the first call by these lines under the vessel sharing agreement known as THE Alliance. Shippers now have additional options for cargoes originating to and from North Europe. Years of growth in the number of distribution centers/fulfillment centers located in the Lehigh Valley and central Pennsylvania, South Jersey and Delaware have resulted in a major distribution hub in the Port of Philadelphia’s backyard.
In November 2016, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced a $300 million Port Development Plan which will more than double the container volumes moving through Philadelphia. “This new service validates what we have known for a long time. Philadelphia is a more efficient supply chain option for major beneficial cargo owners (BCOs)”, said Jerry Sweeney, PRPA’s Chairman.
Ports of call for the AL1 will be: Philadelphia, New York, Halifax, Bremerhaven, Antwerp, London Gateway and Norfolk.
The Philadelphia Regional Port Authority (PRPA) is an independent agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania charged with the management, maintenance, marketing and promotion of publicly-owned port facilities along the Delaware River in Philadelphia, as well as strategic planning throughout the port district. PRPA works with its terminal operators to modernize, expand and improve its facilities, and to market those facilities to prospect port users. Port cargoes and the activities they generate are responsible for thousands of direct and indirect jobs in the Philadelphia area and throughout Pennsylvania.