Hanjin Celebrates the Opening of its Oakland Terminal

On October 12, Hanjin Shipping celebrated the opening and inauguration of its new exclusive container terminal in Oakland, California. The ceremony was a culmination of the hard work and effort put into the terminal project and brought together all those involved. Among the attendees were the Vice-President and CEO of Hanjin Shipping, Mr. Wonpyo Choi, Mayor of Oakland, Mr. Jerry Brown, President of the Board of Commissioners, Mr. Phil Tagami, and the Korean Consulate General of San Francisco, Mr. T.H. Yoo.

While the new terminal commenced operation on June 18th with the first calling of the 5302TEU vessel, the Hanjin Beijing, the Hanjin Los Angeles was present to kick off this opening ceremony, which officially marks the full-operating status of the terminal. With an annual throughput capacity of over 500,000 TEUs, the new terminal will not only be the most modern on the West Coast of the United States, but the largest container terminal in Oakland.

Among other things, the new terminal has four super-post-Panamax New Millennium Class container cranes, each with a 66-meter outreach, the capacity to work vessels up to twenty-two containers wide, and lift over 65 metric tons, thereby making them the largest container cranes in the world. In addition, the two berths that comprise Hanjin’s facility total 731 meters will be able to accommodate the world’s largest containerships, and near-dock intermodal access will be less than one-half of a mile from the terminal gate. The terminal presently covers a 88-acre area, which will be furthermore expanded to 120 acres within the next two years.

In his opening ceremony speech, Hanjin Shipping Vice-President Choi stated, “This celebration marks the ongoing collaboration between Hanjin and the Port of Oakland, with a history of partnership spanning over twenty years. With its completion and inauguration, Hanjin’s new terminal in Oakland not only caters to the needs of our customers as we’ve entered into the new millennium, but also consolidates our position as a total logistics carrier in a major trade center of the U.S. As one of the top four liner shipping companies in the world, Hanjin has its own vision of becoming the ‘world’s most trusted carrier.’ While this is no easy task, I am proud to acknowledge the role that Oakland will play in bringing our goal to realization.”

Along with Hanjin’s current 170-acre facility in Long Beach and the ongoing expansion of its Seattle terminal, the new Oakland terminal with complete Hanjin’s coverage of the U.S. West Coast, allowing it greater handling capacity and higher service ability. The opening of this terminal is in gear with Hanjin’s mission for the new millennium which focuses on bringing more efficient operations and superior service to its clients.

Today, Hanjin is ranked among the world’s top four liner shipping companies and operates a total of 122 vessels.