SIMIC

Port NOLA president and CEO Brandy D Christian said the new service, initiated on April 29, further strengthens New Orleans' direct connectivity and offers additional options, reports AJOT.

"We are thrilled to welcome Evergreen's new service to the Port and for the opportunity to provide our shippers with increased global connectivity through Evergreen's extensive network of services in Panama," said Mr Christian.

The addition of Evergreen's independent CAJ service adds to their current offerings in and out of New Orleans on the Oceans Alliance Asia and North Europe services. The new service will be handled by terminal operator Ports America at the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal. The direct ports of call will be Manzanillo, Colon, Kingston and Port Au Prince with connections to/from Asia, West Coast South America and the Caribbean.

The additional capacity will support Port NOLA's growing export business for commodities such as resin, poultry, forestry and agricultural products. The port saw 13 per cent loaded import TEU growth last year. This service will also further support Port NOLA's import growth from overseas markets.

Port NOLA's container volumes remain strong despite Covid-19 impacts, with loaded container volumes trending positively to date through the 2020 fiscal year. The addition of the Evergreen service continues to promote this trajectory and expands upon Port NOLA's direct weekly container service count that now increases to 13.

"The addition of the Evergreen service at this time underscores confidence in Port NOLA's and our terminal operators' ability to move cargo throughout the Covid-19 global pandemic challenges, keeping the health and safety of our frontline employees top of mind," said Mr Christian.