Maersk adds Vietnam call on transpacific service

Ho Chi Minh City: Maersk Line has added a direct call from Vietnam on its TP6 transpacific service. Maersk will be calling at the SP-PSA terminal in Cai Mep, close to Vung Tau, on the eastbound leg of the TP6 service between Asia and the US West Coast. "Our customers have requested this direct call and the time is right to include a direct service from Vietnam in our network," said Bill Woodhour, North America sales manager for Maersk Line. The line deploys 9,000 teu capacity vessels on the service, the largest to ever call in Vietnam, which only got its first mainline calls in the middle of last year. "We have worked hard to meet this demand and make it feasible to call Vung Tau with the largest vessels ever to call a Vietnamese port," said Peter Smidt-Nielsen, general director for Maersk in Vietnam. Shippers from the US West Coast to Vietnam will continue to be served by transhipment through Hong Kong. [29/03/10]