The 5,400-TEU Cosco Antwerp has arrived at the new Canadian west coast port of Prince Rupert after more than a decade of planning and building to create the facility that stands to relieve growing congestion at the ports of Vancouver, Los Angeles and Long Beach.
"When the Cosco Antwerp touched the shores of the Fairview Container Terminal, the ship activated the first new transpacific trade corridor to be created on this continent in 100 years," said Prince Rupert Port Authority (PRPA) chairman Dale MacLean.
From Prince Rupert, the Canadian National Railway provides shippers with door-to-door transportation throughout the North American continent, said a statement from the port authority.
"Containers are loaded onto railcars immediately after discharge and are expedited through a network to eastern destinations including Chicago, Memphis, Toronto and Montreal. This new express route to mid-continental North America will assist manufacturers and retailers to lower inventory costs and improve their overall supply chain economics," said the statement.
"We were in the enviable position of building, not only this state-of-the-art container terminal, but a high-efficiency express trade corridor virtually from the ground up," said PRPA chief executive Don Krusel.
The first ship's cargo originated in Hong Kong, Yantian, Qingdao, Dalian, Xiamen and Yokohama as part of the CKYH Alliance's Pacific Northwest Butterfly South Loop service, of which Cosco is one of four shipping lines that will see a 5,400-TEU ship call weekly.
"Cosco's vision is clear," said Cosco vice president Dave Bedwell. "Cosco will be able to build on the advantages and become a long-term supporter of the gateway in Prince Rupert."
The collaboration between the Canadian and United States border services to review manifests before containers are loaded in Asia and to collectively identify containers to be opened and examined in Prince Rupert means CN trains will only be slowed down to pass the rail cars through security scanners at the border before entering the US.
|
