Defying a carrier trend of decreasing service to the North American West Coast, Hainan P O Shipping says it’s expanding its trans-Pacific service next month by adding a route between central and north China and two California ports.
Direct calls on the new service include: three ports in China plus Busan, South Korea and the ports of Long Beach and Oakland. The line expansion begins in December, according to the Shanghai-based company. The additions will supplement the carrier’s weekly service between south China and Long Beach.
Hainan, which was established in 2009 and saw its inaugural vessel sail in August 2010, also offers intermodal service to inland U.S. destinations from Long Beach and Oakland.
The increase is contrary to what’s occurred throughout 2011, as five shipping lines that operate vessels with about 3,000-TEU capacity have announced they were discontinuing trans-Pacific service from China to the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex due to weakened U.S. imports.
