Hapag-Lloyd drops Portland, Oregon call

German carrier’s departure follows decision by Hanjin to leave the port earlier this year.

   Hapag-Lloyd said it will no longer call the port of Portland, Oregon.
   “We are omitting Portland in the future in our MPS service (Med Pacific Service). It was our only service which called Portland,” said spokesman Rainer Horn. “The port coverage remains very good as the MPS continues to serve the ports of LA, Oakland, Tacoma and Vancouver on the North American West Coast.”
   The German carrier’s decision to stop calling the port follows the decision earlier this year by Hanjin Shipping to stop calling Portland and means the port has lost about 90 percent of its container traffic. Westwood Shipping, which operates container-bulk ships between the Pacific Northwest and Japan, Korea and China also calls Portland.
   Operations at the port have seen years of discord between the operator of the port’s sole container terminal, International Container Terminal Services, Inc and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.
   Hapag-Lloyd said it was dropping the Portland call “in order to maintain the schedule integrity of the MPS service. The MPS connects the US West Coast, Central America and the Caribbean with the Western Mediterranean (Italy, South France, Spain and Portugal – plus many transshipment options via ports in the Caribbean and via Tangier in the Med).”
   “We regret any inconveniences for customers and also any negative impact on the port,” said Horn. “Our offices are prepared to offer alternative options to our trusted clients for their concrete needs. Especially the port of Tacoma, which is also called by the MPS, is close to Portland.”
   According to Bluewater Reporting, the MPS service operates with 11 ships with an average capacity of 4,255 TEUs. Six are contributed by Hapag-Lloyd and fellow German carrier Hamburg Sud contributes the other five. The port rotation of the MPS is Tacoma, Vancouver, B.C., Oakland, Los Angeles, Manzanillio, Cartegena, Caucedo, Lisbon, Tangier, Valencia, Cagliari, Livorno, Genoa, Fos, Barcelona, Valencia, Cartegena, Manzanillo, Los Angeles, Oakland, and Tacoma.