South Korea’s shipping company Hanjin Shipping will terminate its direct call service to the Port of Portland, the carrier said in a letter sent to the port’s container terminal operator ICTSI Oregon and to the port’s officials.
According to the letter, Hanjin will ”continue to provide services to/from Portland, or and nearby regions via rail and truck transportation to/from Seattle.”
The PNW – Hanjin service will be terminated on March 9 when MV Hanjin Los Angeles will make the final call to the port.
Hanjin ships have carried around 78% of containers to and from the port’s Terminal 6, moving around 1,600 containers per week. The business was bringing USD 83 million annually, according to the port’s authorities.
Hanjin has not stated the reasons for the termination, but it is speculated that recent multi-day unloading delays issues caused by longshoremen work slowdowns, and marathon contract talks between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and Pacific Maritime Association, of which ICTSI Oregon is a member, forced the shipper to reshuffle the service.
Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd, accounting for some 25% of overall calls at Terminal 6, remains the only major shipping company to use the terminal.
World Maritime News Staff; Image: Port of Portland