APL to start North Asia-US West Coast network

The Eagle Express Service (EXI) will see its first sailing on 1 November 2015 with a container vessel departing China’s Qingdao.

APL, the container arm of Singapore’s Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), will deploy six vessels with a nominal capacity of 5,100 teu each for the service.

The port rotation of the Eagle Express service will be Qingdao, Shanghai, Busan, Los Angeles, Oakland, Dutch Harbor, Yokohama, Busan, Naha, Qingdao, and back to Shanghai.

“The Eagle Express service is characterised by a well-formulated network design which will be optimally supported by a dedicated fleet of APL vessels as well as our highly-efficient terminal and rail operations,” said Kenneth Glenn, APL president.

The EXI features speedy transits to Los Angeles - just 13 days from Shanghai and 11 days from Busan. Additionally, Tuesday vessel arrival in Los Angeles assures same-week local cargo availability.

APL believed that shippers are expected to benefit from seamless connectivity at Los Angeles port where APL-run US-flagged vessels discharge containers at APL’s Global Gateway South, Southern California terminal.

From there, 11 weekly APL-dedicated LinerTrainTM services directly depart on-dock for express transits to key inland destinations.