The 4,616-TEU Dusseldorf Express, the first of vessels from the three main lines of Hong Kong`s OOCL, Hapag-Lloyd and NYK Line, is to increase the terminal`s moorings to four a week and increase annual throughput to 400,000 and 425,000 TEU.
The 66,000-dwt vessel of 964 feet length made its inaugural call at the WUT midway through a 98-day voyage of its Pacific Coast-Mediterranean Service, the start of a five-year commitment to move from Seattle, 30 miles north of Tacoma.
"Washington United has hired additional staff, Tacoma Rail has hired new staff, and the longshore union will add staff," said port spokeswoman Tara Mattina of a partnership she hopes the partnership will bring "long term growth". The port of Tacoma hopes the addition of the service will help it to reach 1.9 million annually and eventually to meet records peaks not seen since 2006 of 2.1 million units. "We expect to hit those numbers again in 2014."
The presence of a Hapag-Lloyd ship is a sign that Tacoma and the Puget Sound area are "a gateway for world trade" and will bring several hundred jobs to include 250 full time jobs into the Pierce County, said Port of Tacoma CEO John Wolfe, reported the Tacoma News Tribune.
International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) president Scott Mason said the alliance will mean increases in role of machinists, clerks, crane drivers and line handlers for the extra cargo. "I don`t think any port, other than Los Angeles, has had to ramp up this fast for this many jobs."