This marks the launch of the ZIM Ecommerce Xpress service connecting the northern province of Quang Ninh’s Ha Long and the US.
The ship Seaspan Kobe docked at Cai Lan at around 5 am, bringing 800 empty containers to prepare for upcoming shipments and 100 containers of different kinds of cargo, including footwear and garment.
Cai Lan is scheduled to service one ship from the Port of Los Angeles every Friday. The ships will also link Diem Dien Port in the northern province of Thai Binh and the Port of Shenzhen in China.
Northern Vietnam Zim Integrated Shipping Service Manager Nguyen Thi Hoa said that the cargo transportation demand between northern Vietnam to the US West Coast had been on the rise.
It currently takes up to 34-36 days to transport goods from ports in the northern Vietnam region to the East Coast of the US. The time is only one week by air from Vietnam to the US's West Coast, but the cost is quite high. ZIM Ecommerce Xpress takes 16 days.
Vessels will not go through the Middle East to avoid the on-going conflicts there.
ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd is among one of the leading carriers in the global container shipping industry.