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FedEx charters three ships for alternative transpac service

The Port of Hueneme, the fourth-largest container port on the US West Coast, recently secured new business with FedEx Logistics. FedEx has chartered three vessels, the first, a supramax bulk carrier, the Genco Pyrenees, is due to arrive in California from China on January 30. The vessel is carrying 184 53 ft containers filled with electronics, automotive materials, clothing, and general department-store merchandise. The second ship is expected to leave China at the end of January, and the third ship a month later, said FedEx spokesperson Christina Meek.

FedEx approached the Port of Hueneme to avoid the ongoing congestion at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

A joint use agreement with Naval Base Ventura County will enable the Port of Hueneme to unload the FedEx cargo at a wharf in the naval base, leaving port space open for regular operations to continue without disruption.

“Working together through our standing joint use agreement, we’ve enabled a few creative solutions for a complex challenge that will help alleviate some of the supply chain congestion,” said Capt. Robert “Bar” Kimnach III, commanding officer of the naval base.

Genco bulk carriers being repurposed to carry containers are becoming a common sight off the west coast of the US. The Genco Mayflower, formerly Navigare Beatus, is carrying Walmart branded 53 ft containers from Huizhou to Portland. The vessel has been loitering off the Oregon coast since January 9.

Kim Biggar

Kim Biggar started writing in the supply chain sector in 2000, when she joined the Canadian Association of Supply Chain & Logistics Management. In 2004/2005, she was project manager for the Government of Canada-funded Canadian Logistics Skills Committee, which led to her 13-year role as communications manager of the Canadian Supply Chain Sector Council. A longtime freelance writer, Kim has contributed to publications including The Forwarder, 3PL Americas, The Shipper Advocate and Supply Chain Canada.

Comments

  1. We need way more of this!

    Leave it to an innovative effort by a corporation looking for solutions “out of the box” that side steps the typical problems experienced by all. Good on them.

    Solutions that include joint efforts by those who otherwise may never be involved. Excellent.

    1. Definitely, the success of the “shipping container” business model could be coming to an end thanks to this slap in the face that they have given to the World Economy, conditioning everyone to what each major shipping company wants.
      The land logistics of the 53-foot container from the US plus Canada Mexico is the business model that follows “the land container of whoever wants, which gets on regular ‘white line’ ships”

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