Port of Boston partners up with AFL for New England-Halifax Shuttle service

A new weekly cargo service that will connect the Port of Boston with Halifax, Nova Scotia is going live this week, according to officials from the Massachusetts Port Authority (MPA).

Dubbed the “New England-Halifax Shuttle, this new service will connect New England-based shippers to 20 major steamship lines and be operated by American Feeder Lines (AFL). This service will call on the Port’s Conley Container Terminal each week on Tuesday.

Port of Boston spokesperson Lisa Langone told LM that ever since the previous service—Eimskip—ended in 2007 the Port has been working with the Port of Halifax to identify a potential carrier to reinstate the service.

“This gives us a wonderful opportunity to provide more service options to our shippers which helps them to be more competitive in the global marketplace,” she said. “And it increases the opportunities for shippers to move their freight through the Port of Boston, particularly if they are using another East Coast port.”

Langone also noted that this new service gives the Port of Boston an opportunity to bring in some of the Eastern Canada freight that is currently moving by truck, explaining that more options the Port can provide its trade-dependent companies helps control their transportation costs, allows them to be more competitive in the global marketplace, and makes the New England region a more attractive place to do business.

The New England-Halifax Shuttle will also call Portland, Maine linking them both with Halifax’s South End and Fairview Cove container terminals, according to a statement issued by the Port. The statement indicated that this is the “first of many services that AFL hopes to implement as part of a planned marine highway connecting ports along the East and Gulf Coasts with an all-water link.”

In late May, the Port of Boston rolled 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.