PSW and PNW offer better services between North America and Australia

The member lines of the Oceania Vessel Sharing Agreement (Hamburg Sud, Hapag-Lloyd, and Maersk Line) have announced plans to upgrade their services linking the West Coast North America and Australia / New Zealand.

The Pacific Southwest String will utilize six 2,500 TEU vessels, replacing smaller tonnage in order to better handle expanding customer volumes on the trade.

The weekly PSW (Pacific Southwest String) rotation will be Oakland (CA, USA), Long Beach (CA, USA), Auckland (New Zealand), Melbourne (Australia), Sydney (Australia), Tauranga (New Zealand), Suva (Fiji), Honolulu (HI, USA, monthly), and Oakland (CA, USA).

The fortnightly PNW (Pacific Northwest String) rotation will call at Oakland (CA, USA), Seattle (WA, USA), Vancouver (Canada), Long Beach (CA, USA), Tauranga (New Zealand), Sydney (Australia), Melbourne (Australia), Adelaide (Australia), Auckland (New Zealand), Papeete (Tahiti), and Ensenada (Mexico) before returning to Oakland (CA, USA).

The new structure will enhance southbound transit times to just 13 days from Long Beach to New Zealand and 18 days to Melbourne. By adding Adelaide to the PNW rotation the only direct service to and from North America's Pacific Coast will be established. Adelaide is a vital export centre for Australia's wine industry.

The changes will take effect from the southbound PSW sailing of the Cap Delgado departing Oakland on 19 July (voyage 928 SB), and 20 July with the departure of the Santa Federica from Seattle (voyage 728 SB) on the PNW rotation.