"This ZIM service will support legacy apparel, furniture and hardware industries throughout the Carolinas," said State Ports Authority Director Paul J. Cozza. "It’s an incredibly unique offering which shows our commitment to both reliable and flexible shipping solutions for our customers."
Oakland Braces for Ocean Carrier Alliance Changes: ‘We’re Confident’
Port of Oakland is expecting little disruption from upcoming changes to container shipping alliances. Eleven of the world’s largest container shipping lines are coming together in three new alliances. The carriers are changing partners after bankruptcy, acquisitions and consolidation roiled container shipping in 2016. Alliances allow participating carriers to share ships and port calls to reduce expense while expanding service.
The port anticipates cargo volume to hold steady once new alliances begin operation April, with fewer but larger ships visiting Oakland weekly.
"We’ve spoken to the shipping lines, we’ve spoken to our marine terminal operators and we understand their schedules," said John Driscoll, the port’s maritime director. "We’re confident that Oakland will be able to accommodate the newly formed alliances efficiently."
Oakland port officials see no difficulty in working with the new alliances. Most of the port’s vessel calls are concentrated in just three marine terminals. That means cargo relocation should be minimal. The port expects to handle 29 weekly and two fortnightly vessel calls in the new alliance structure.
In sum, the port is anticipating three "key outcomes":
• No loss of cargo in Oakland, even though weekly vessel calls will decrease from 32 to 29
• More direct vessel calls between Southeast Asia and Oakland, including a direct call to the Indian Subcontinent
• Continued strong Oakland-to-Japan and Oakland-to-Korea service for refrigerated exports
Oakland will receive direct calls from 13 different Chinese ports. It will also receive six weekly calls from Taiwan and four from Southeast Asia: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Seven weekly services from Oakland will go to ports in Japan.
The port said it could take two-to-three months for all alliance changes to take hold. The process includes slotting vessels into new service rotations. In some cases, older ships will be replaced with newer, larger ones.