Port of Oakland adds to Vietnam-China-U.S. shipping route

A Transpacific shipping route linking Asia and the U.S. will add weekly Port of Oakland stops beginning in November.

Oakland - California's third largest ocean cargo gateway - will become the sixth stop in the service operated by three Asian shipping lines.

The service, known as the Calco-C, connects ports in Vietnam, China and California.  Port spokesmen expect to bring an additional 50 vessel arrivals to Oakland annually. 

If that is indeed the case, it would mean an increase in Oakland cargo volume by as much as 30,000 twenty-foot-containers (TEUs) a year.  The port handled the equivalent of 2.28 million TEUs last year. 

The announcement comes as the International Longshore and Warehouse Union negotiate in advance on new management contracts with the Pacific Maritime Association. 

Volume growth could lead to more cargo-handling jobs in Oakland, the port said.

Maritime Director John Driscoll also pointed out that the development may strengtheb Oakland's role as a "key gateway" in the Transpacific container trade.

The port said the service gives shippers more opportunity to import finished Asian goods such as wearing apparel and consumer electronics.  It said exporters will gain new routes to Asia for commodities such as California agricultural products.

Oakland is the largest outbound port of ag products on the U.S. West Coast.

Other ports in the service include Cai Mep in Vietnam; Xiamen, Yantian and Nansha in China; and the Port of Long Beach.  The service is operated by Tokyo-based "K" Line; Wan Hai Lines of Taiwan; and Singapore’s Pacific International Lines. 

Seven ships from the three ocean carriers are deployed on the service.  Each has the capacity to carry between 8,000 and 9,000 20-foot containers.  The vessels will make weekly calls at the port’s Oakland International Container Terminal beginning Nov. 6.

Meanwhile, industry analysts caution that one member of the Calco-C service - "K" Line - may be already be in merger discussions with another carrier.