New transpacific service to carry Oregon exports to Japan

Portland: A new international shipping service announced today by Westwood Shipping Lines and the Port of Portland will soon provide regional exporters with direct access to ports in Japan.
Starting on July 11, the monthly service will provide space for more than 200 containers per month under a six month contract.
Once successfully established, Port officials say the service could quickly increase in both volumes and frequency of vessel calls.?
"While this will start relatively small, the relevance to shippers in our region is great," said Greg Borossay, Senior Manager Carrier Development for the Port of Portland. "This is a key mission-driven service for the Port and the Columbia River basin, and there is solid potential for growth.
"?Westwood's Portland service will carry non-refrigerated containerized agricultural products including hay, as well as paper products and other commodities from valley, upriver and inland customers. Ports of call in Japan will include Shimizu, Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka and Nagoya, as well as Busan, South Korea. Westwood provides service to more ports in Japan on a direct call basis than any other carrier.?
Westwood provides unique flexibility in carrying varied cargo types on its specially designed ConBulk vessels. With the combination of containerized goods and heavy bulk cargoes, vessel draft can be an issue. Fortunately, the Columbia River channel deepening project is nearing completion, bringing the channel from 40 to 43 feet.
?"Completion of the navigation channel improvements helped make this possible for us," said Guy Stephenson, President of Westwood Shipping Lines. "We welcome this opportunity to expand our service and support our customer base."
?Not only does the new service answer an immediate need expressed by regional exporters, it supports President Obama's national export initiative. The President's executive order calls for doubling U.S. exports over the next 5 years. [12/05/10]

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