Ocean shipping: New Southeast Asia service coming to Port of Boston

The Port of Boston announced this week that on May 27 it is rolling out a new ocean shipping service to Southeast Asia via the Suez Canal.

The service, entitled the AWE-5, is comprised of various direct destinations that have not previously been called on by the port’s Conley Container Terminal, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

Port officials said that AWE-5 is a consortium of the China Ocean Shipping Company, Yang Ming Marine Transport of Taiwan, Hanjin Shipping of South Korea and Hyundai Merchant Marine. AWE-5 will call on the Port of Boston every Friday, effective next week.

“This direct service to Southeast Asia is a result of New England-based shipper demand. It has been something we have been working towards for some time,” said Lisa Langone, a spokesperson for the Port of Boston.

The port has offered service to North China going back to 2002 through the AWE-2, which is comprised of COSCO and its partners, “K” Line of Japan, Yang Ming Marine Transport, and Hanjin Shipping. During the period May 2010-April 2011 the North China service accounted for a total of 113,364 TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units).

According to a Port of Boston statement., three of the current North China AWE-2 service partners, COSCO, Hanjin Shipping and Yang Ming Marine Transport will provide a total of nine 5,500 to 6,000 TEU Post-Panamax ships on the new AWE-5 route that will offer port calls at Hong Kong; Yantian, China; Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Cai Mep, Vietnam; and Singapore. And Boston will be allocated 1,300 TEU on each ship, in each direction.

It also noted that in the beginning, the addition of the new AWE-5 route is expected to increase volumes at Conley Terminal by more than 100,000 TEU a year., and the addition of Hyundai Merchant Marine boosts Massport’s roster of top 20 global container lines serving Conley Terminal to six.

Langone also noted that this new service increases the competitiveness of New England shippers by having more reliable and cost efficient ocean transportation services direct from Boston to Southeast Asia. She also pointed out that there are no drayage costs to another port with this service, coupled with the fact that more of New England’s trade-dependent companies using the Port of Boston to move freight.

“I am extremely pleased that our highly successful North China service over the last decade has resulted in the launch of a new direct service from Boston to additional Asian markets,” said Mike Leone, Port Director for the Massachusetts Port Authority, in a statement. “The new Southeast Asia service will offer tremendous growth opportunities for New England’s trade-dependent companies wanting to do business with emerging markets in that region of the world. Direct access to these important markets is something we have been working towards for a long time, and I am confident it will be well-received.”