The Containership Company starts Great Dragon service April 17

COPENHAGEN-based start-up in 2009, The Containership Company (TCC), has nominated Jiangsu-based Taicang International Gateway and Los Angeles-based and MOL-owned TraPac Container Terminal to handle its new transpacific Great Dragon service.

The Containership Company's inaugural Great Dragon sailing departs Taicang International Gateway on April 17 with a scheduled arrival in Los Angeles on May 3. The Great Dragon shuttle is expected to generate 250,000 TEU annually.

Taicang International Gateway (TIG), a subsidiary of Modern Terminals Limited, is strategically located near several key manufacturing China hubs, including Suzhou, Kunshan, Wuxi and the Yangtze River Delta Region. Taicang's proximity to the manufacturing point of origin allows shippers to avoid congestion and reduce haulage costs by reducing inland transit time.

TIG's port infrastructure is supported by a well developed highway network, and an environmentally friendly barge service offering.

"Taicang International Gateway, and the Jiangsu Government, together with TraPac and the Port of Los Angeles will provide The Containership Company (TCC) with world class terminal operations on both sides of the Pacific" said CEO of Modern Terminals Sean Kelly. "We look forward to working with TraPac and the Port of Los Angeles to ensure TCC's complete success."

"We are pleased that The Containership Company chose TraPac and the Port of Los Angeles as its business partners in launching this no-frills port to port service between the US and China markets. We look forward to a long and prosperous relationship with TCC," said TraPac executive vice president and head of operations Frank Pisano in a statement.

Registered in Norway with corporate headquarters in Copenhagen, the line will operate on a weekly frequency between Los Angeles and Taicang, 40 miles northwest of Shanghai. The first vessel, the Taicang Dragon, is scheduled to sail from China on April 17 and arrive at the Port of Los Angeles on May 3.

The ships in the service will have a capacity of between 2,500 and 3,000 TEU. Currently, goods from the Taicang must be moved by truck or feeder ship to Shanghai, where they are transferred to linehaul vessels.

CEO Jakob Tolstrup-Moller said the service will provide a more direct link to the vast inland manufacturing base of the Jiangsu province. Eagle Hill Container Management is handling the line's fleet of containers. Norton Lilly International is acting as its agency on a worldwide basis.

(Source: www.schednet.com)