Port Of Portland Gains New Container Services

The Port of Portland has announced the addition of two new ocean container carriers and the expansion of service into Japan from an existing carrier. Taiwanbased Yangming Marine Transport Corp. has entered the Portland market on a weekly basis under a space-chartering alliance with "K" Line. Yangming has replaced service previously provided by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. under a similar "K" Line space chartering agreement.

The consortium of NYK Line, Neptune Orient Lines Ltd. (NOL) and Hapag-Lloyd AG announced that London-based P&O Containers Ltd. will join its ranks this spring at the Port, allowing all four carriers to share container space on each other's ships. In addition to its vessel sharing agreement, this spring the consortium will add three Japanese ports — Kobe, Nagoya and Tokyo — to its Far East Express (FEX) service, thereby expanding its transpacific trade coverage area with Portland, Ore.