A decade later, Hamburg Süd returns to PortMiami

PortMiami is one of several ports on the U.S. East Coast that are cashing in on increased demand for all-water alternatives to West Coast cargo gateways.    German liner operator Hamburg Süd returned to PortMiami for the first time in more than 10 years when its chartered vessel Cathrine Rickmers pulled into dock Thursday.
   The most important aspect of the call from PortMiami’s perspective is that Hamburg Süd is beginning to increase its presence on East-West trade routes after years of focusing on North-South trades, Eric Olafson, the port’s manager for trade development said.
   And it further underscores a shift in cargo imports away from West Coast ports to the East Coast as beneficial cargo owners seek more predictable deliveries and import gateways close to consumer markets in the eastern half of the United States.
   Hamburg Süd is a vessel operator on the Ocean3 Alliance’s Manhattan Bridge Service, which commenced sailing on May 15, according to American Shipper research affiliate Bluewater Reporting. 
   The service operates between China and the United States via the Panama Canal with 10 vessels, five of which are operated by China Shipping. Fellow alliance member CMA CGM operates three vessels and United Arab Shipping Co., also an Ocean3 carrier, operates one, and although Hamburg Süd is not part of the Ocean3, it has been added to the string to operate one vessel.
   Miami is last outbound port call on the service, which has a full rotation of Qingdao, Ningbo, Shanghai, New York/New Jersey, Norfolk, Savannah, Miami, and back to Qingdao.
   Average vessel capacity is 4,162 TEUs and total rotation time is 70 days round, according to Bluewater Reporting.
   Ocean carriers are responding to the demand for more all-water service to the East Coast, either through the Panama or Suez canals. Maersk, ZIM, and CMA CGM have each added East Coast services in the first half of the year in response to severe congestion issues at West Coast ports that forced shippers to reevaluate their supply networks.
   PortMiami is actively recruiting more carriers on the Asia trade lane as construction crews near completion of the harbor deepening to 50 feet, which will enable the port to handle next-generation vessels. Vessels up to 13,000 TEUs will be able to transit the Panama Canal beginning next year once a new lock expansion there is completed.