THE Alliance and Evergreen have launched their new Asia-US Gulf service with the inaugural sailing of the ONE Modern calling on Port NOLA recently and marking Port NOLA’s third weekly direct-Asia container service.

THE Alliance’s East Coast Loop 6 (EC6) and Evergreen’s Asia US Gulf (AUG) service includes Ocean Network Express (ONE), Hapag-Lloyd, Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) Yang Ming Line (YML) and Evergreen.

Port NOLA President and CEO Brandy D. Christian said the new service expands New Orleans’ direct connectivity with Asian markets for importers and exporters, adds a new direct port of call to Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan and offers additional options for customers. 

“We are pleased to welcome THE Alliance and Evergreen’s new service to the Port of New Orleans,” Christian said. “This new direct-Asia service highlights the industry’s continued investment in the New Orleans market and the importance of the Louisiana gateway’s connectivity to Asia. We are excited that our partners at Hapag Lloyd, ONE, HMM, Yang Ming and Evergreen are committing to this service and increasing access between the U.S. Gulf and the global market.”

The service’s direct ports of call, Kaohsiung – Hong Kong – Yantian – Ningbo – Shanghai – Pusan – (Panama) – Houston - Mobile – New Orleans – (Panama) – Kaohsiung, will offer the shortest transit times for exporters out of New Orleans.

The new service will be handled by terminal operator Ports America at the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal. 

“At a time when the West Coast is operationally under great pressure and shippers are increasingly looking at the carbon intensity of their logistics routing, it is exciting that ONE and the Port of New Orleans has a new weekly direct service connection with Asia,” said Jeremy Nixon, chief executive officer of Ocean Network Express (ONE). 

In a statement, Port NOLA said the additional capacity of this service will support the gateway's growing export business for commodities such as resin, poultry, forestry and agricultural products.

Port NOLA said it 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 — increasing capacity to 1 million TEUs and allowing the port to work larger ships more efficiently. 

The gateway noted that the new service now marks Port NOLA’s third direct-Asia service, and it adds to Port NOLA’s two existing direct-Asia services operated by the 2M Alliance and OCEAN Alliance.