EVERGREEN SIGNS AGREEMENT FOR OAKLAND TERMINAL

EVERGREEN SIGNS AGREEMENT FOR OAKLAND TERMINAL    Evergreen Marine Corp. and the Port of Oakland have signed a memorandum granting the Taiwanese carrier an exclusive container terminal in northern California.
   Under the agreement, Evergreen will operate the 58.1-acre Ben E. Nutter Terminal located in Oakland's outer harbor. Evergreen will also commit to making Oakland a first inbound port of call on one of its eastbound transpacific rotations.
   The Port of Oakland has established wharfage discounts in exchange for annual guarantees of intermodal containers. The port also agreed to provide for Evergreen's future growth by allowing an additional 40 acres for expansion into a contiguous facility that will be completely renovated in the near future. The expanded facility would be able to accommodate more than 400,000 TEUs per year.
   'Evergreen already operates marine terminals in the other U.S. West Coast gateways, and the operation in Oakland now gives them complete coverage in this trade lane,' said Tay Yoshitani, Oakland's executive director.
   Oakland 'is another gateway in North America via California for Evergreen, both for the waterborne and intermodal links,' said Marcel Chang, president of Evergreen Marine Corp. (Taiwan). 'This exclusivity is a value-added feature that will serve our customers with a guarantee of sensitivity to transit times and scheduling.'