UWL and Swire Shipping Announce Seattle-to-Vietnam Express Export Ocean Service

UWL President Duncan Wright at the 34th annual meeting of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition (AgTC) in Tacoma, Wash. Photo: UWL.

Singapore-based Swire Shipping and UWL, a Cleveland-based non-vessel operating common carrier, have introduced a new dedicated, express ocean export service from Seattle, Washington to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, offering a 21-day transit time.

The announcement was made in mid-June by UWL President Duncan Wright as he spoke at the 34th annual meeting of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition (AgTC) in Tacoma, Wash.

“The recent ocean disruption and 100-day-long transit times are literally wiping out U.S. food exporter livelihood; many of these businesses simply cannot withstand the consistent lost sales, rotting food, and cancelled orders,” Wright said. “Our new service provides much needed speed, reliability, and guaranteed capacity the sector is demanding.”

UWL, a top-10 American-owned NVOCC and leading provider of global 3PL services, contracted with Swire Shipping, a multi-purpose liner service, to launch the fortnightly Seattle-to-Ho Chi Minh express ocean transport service, which offers:

  • Twenty-one-day transit time.
  • Guaranteed capacity.
  • No blank sailings.
  • No transshipments.
  • Dedicated equipment pool.
  • Fixed day of departure, cut off, and ERD.

The service, according to UWL, includes priority berthing at both origin and destination and a dedicated equipment pool for suppliers in Seattle, including 6,000 brand-new ocean containers, with 40-foot-high cube and 20-foot containers already in the rotation.

Additionally, reefer equipment is currently being positioned in the rotation to help exporters moving temperature-controlled commodities like apples, grapes, and dairy products.

“Predictability is assured, as schedules are published six months in advance, with two sailings per month,” UWL said in a statement.

“Swire Shipping is committed to supporting the American exporter to provide quality, dedicated, express transit times to end users in Vietnam and (Southeast) Asia with new equipment and guaranteed slots. We are a dedicated partner and in for the long haul,” said Swire Shipping’s Rufus Frere-Smith, Regional Head of Projects, Americas.

UWL’s new Seattle–Ho Chi Minh ocean transport service represents the second collaboration between UWL and Swire Shipping. Earlier this year, the companies launched Sun Chief, an express ocean service from Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam to Seattle, Wash., offering U.S. importers a transit time of 19 days.

“We are committed to meeting the needs of our customers and keeping an open mind about solutions. No one should be considering the ‘customary’ way of moving cargo as necessarily the best option anymore,” Wright said. “There are a variety of tools in the toolbox, and we should be evaluating all of them right now if we want to keep the supply chain moving.”