‘THE’ Alliance transatlantic loop calls Port of Philadelphia

The weekly AL1 service, operated by “THE” Alliance, made its first call to the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal Wednesday with the 4,600-TEU YM Essence.    The Philadelphia Regional Port Authority (PRPA) said a new transatlantic service from “THE” Alliance that called its Packer Avenue Marine Terminal for the first time Wednesday will be important to the port.
   Dubbed the AL1, the weekly service’s first vessel to call the port was the 4,600-TEU YM Essence, which is one of four Yang Ming ships deployed on the service.
   The AL1 has a rotation of Norfolk, Philadelphia, New York, Halifax, Bremerhaven, Antwerp, London Gateway and Norfolk.
   In addition to Taiwan’s Yang Ming, the other members of THE Alliance include Hapag-Lloyd of Germany; and Japan’s “big three” carriers, NYK, MOL and “K” Line.
   “This is extremely significant,” PRPA CEO Jeff Theobald said. “This gives Pennsylvania and regional exporters more options to get to Europe. Most of these lines have never had direct container service into the Port of Philadelphia.”
   “Years of growth in the number of distribution centers/fulfillment centers located in the Lehigh Valley and central Pennsylvania, South Jersey and Delaware have resulted in a major distribution hub in the Port of Philadelphia’s backyard,” PRPA said.
   “It’s great to have a carrier like Hapag-Lloyd and the partners calling the Port of Philadelphia again from Europe,” said Thomas Holt Jr., the president of Astro Holdings, which leases the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal.
   The last time Hapag-Lloyd called the Port of Philadelphia with a European service was the late 1980s, PRPA said.
   Hapag-Lloyd and Yang Ming are current customers of the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal with services on other trade lanes, Holt said, adding how the new service “will solidify them as mainstay customers in the port and bring new carriers into the community.”