UWL and Swire Shipping are launching a new dedicated, express ocean export service from Seattle, Washington, US to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
The transit time will be the fastest in the trade, with a duration of 21 days, according to a statement.
"The recent ocean disruption and 100-day-long transit times are literally wiping out US food exporter livelihood; many of these businesses simply cannot withstand the consistent lost sales, rotting food, and cancelled orders," said Duncan Wright, UWL president, adding, "Our new service provides much needed speed, reliability, and guaranteed capacity the sector is demanding."
Responding to the needs of the US agribusiness exporter, UWL has entered into a contract with Swire Shipping to launch its first fortnightly ocean transport service from Seattle to Ho Chi Minh City.
This service includes priority berthing at both origin and destination and a dedicated equipment pool for suppliers in Seattle. This includes 6,000 brand new ocean containers, with a 40-foot-high cube and 20-foot containers already in the rotation. In addition, reefer equipment is currently in a rotating position and should be available in Seattle by July to help exporters transport temperature-controlled goods such as apples, grapes, and dairy products. Itineraries are published six months in advance, with two sailings per month.
"Swire Shipping is committed to supporting the American exporter to provide quality, dedicated, express transit times to end users in Vietnam and SE Asia with new equipment and guaranteed slots. We are a dedicated partner and in for the long haul," said Swire Shipping's Rufus Frere-Smith, regional head of projects, Americas.
This is the second collaboration between UWL and Swire Shipping. Earlier this year, the companies launched Sun Chief, the maritime express service from Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam to Seattle, WA, offering US importers a transit time of 19 days.
"We are committed to meeting the needs of our customers and keeping an open mind about solutions. No one should be considering the 'customary' way of moving cargo as necessarily the best option anymore. There are a variety of tools in the toolbox, and we should be evaluating all of them right now if we want to keep the supply chain moving," noted Wright.
