TCC adds Qingdao call to transpacific service

TCC adds Qingdao call to transpacific service    The Containership Co. said Friday it is adding a call at Qingdao to its transpacific Great Dragon service starting Nov. 15.
   Norway-based TCC started operations in April with the no-frills Great Dragon providing shuttle service between Taicang, a river port 30 miles inland from Shanghai, and Los Angeles. It has since added a call at Ningbo and now one at Qingdao.
   'Our customers have repeatedly encouraged us to expand our service portfolio, as they see TCC's services as a good supplement to the more established service providers in the market,' said Franck Kayser, chief operating officer. 'Right now, the greatest demand from our customers is a push to get a good TCC product from Qingdao. With a fast 14-day transit time, combined with a schedule reliability of 96 percent, we are now able to provide such a service.'
   In its May issue, American Shipper reported on the rise of Qingdao and other Bohai Bay ports as the third major port cluster in China.
   The new call at Qingdao will lengthen transit times from the other two origins in China as Qingdao will be the last call before Los Angeles. The service, from Nov. 15, will have a rotation of Taicang, Ningbo, Qingdao, Los Angeles and Taicang. It's operated with five vessels with an average capacity of 2,960 TEUs.
   'We fully agree with our customers that shipping a container from port to port is a commodity,' Kayser said. 'Our customers simply want equipment to be available, and then have it moved reliably from A to B. This is exactly what we are providing them from Taicang, Ningbo, Qingdao and Los Angeles.'