SIMIC

Alliance members Ocean Network Express (ONE), Hapag-Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) and Yang Ming Line said the EC6 is "the first service within the network to directly and seamlessly connect the US Gulf with important ports in Asia".

The MOL Emissary vessel part of the Ocean Network Express (ONE) line serving New Orleans as part of THE Alliance scheduled to bring a new direct-Asia service to the Port of New Orleans.

Port NOLA president and CEO Brandy Christian said the new service expands New Orleans' direct connectivity with key ports in Asia and offers additional options.

"We are pleased to welcome THE Alliance's new service to the Port of New Orleans," said Ms Christian.

"This new direct-Asia service highlights the industry's continued investment in the New Orleans market. We look forward to continuing to work with long-standing partner Hapag Lloyd as well as newer to Port NOLA carriers, ONE, HMM and Yang Ming to make this service a success for our shipper and carrier partners," she said.

The direct ports of call will be Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, Yantian, Ningbo, Shanghai, Busan, (Panama), Houston, Mobile, New Orleans, (Panama) and back to Kaohsiung. The new service will be handled by terminal operator Ports America at the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal.

The additional capacity will support Port NOLA's growing export business for commodities such as resin, poultry, forestry and agricultural products.

While known for its robust export growth, 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 and new distribution centre announcements in Louisiana including Medline and Amazon, which together collectively total nearly two million square feet of distribution centre space.

Port NOLA is currently in the process of a US$100 million expansion project at the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal that will add four new 100-foot-gauge container gantry cranes in the fourth quarter of 2021. This expansion will increase capacity to one million TEU and allows the Port to work larger ships more efficiently.

The addition of THE Alliance service continues to promote this trajectory and expands upon Port NOLA's direct weekly container service count that now increases to 14. This new direct-Asia container service adds to Port NOLA's two existing direct-Asia services including the MSC's Lone Star Express service, with Maersk and ZIM as partners and CMA CGM's PEX 3 service with Cosco, Evergreen and OOCL as partners.