APL, MOL upgrade to weekly peak-season Pacific service

APL, MOL upgrade to weekly peak-season Pacific service New World Alliance carriers APL and MOL said they will provide a weekly peak-season service from Asia to the port of Seattle, formalizing a temporary arrangement of ad hoc sailings.
   The “PS5” service, which the two carriers also provided in last year’s peak season, will connect the ports of Shanghai, Yantian, Hong Kong and Kaohsiung with the U.S. West Coast gateway of Seattle.
   As with most transpacific services started this year, the PS5 vessels will not call at the port complex of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which has proved surprisingly congestion-free.
      Masanori Doi, manager, liner division at MOL, said port operations in Los Angeles-Long Beach have continued to be “very smooth” so far. “People say it’s because volume is down — I don’t think it’s true,” he cautioned. “It’s picking up pretty well.”
   He said the diversion of cargoes to alternative ports and the hiring of more dockworkers since last year's problems have helped avoid a return of congestion.
   “We are doing everything not to concentrate on Los Angeles-Long Beach too much,” he MOL executive said.
   “Customers have been concerned about the impact of congestion on their supply chains as volumes build and so we are offering Seattle as another option to the southern California ports in terms of a gateway and intermodal connectivity,” said Robert Sappio, senior vice president for the transpacific trade at APL.
   New World Alliance partner Hyundai Merchant Marine is not involved in the PS5 service.