Singapore – Swire Shipping, a leading operator of liner shipping services in the Asia-Pacific and around the globe, today announced that it has teamed up with UWL to offer a dedicated feeder service from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to its recently-announced service between Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to Seattle on the US West Coast. At 25 days, the service is also the market’s fastest, and is expected to be popular with customers with a need for speed.

“In providing an all-water solution from Phnom Penh to Seattle via our Ho Chi Minh City terminal, the service will deliver the fastest transit in the market. At less than four weeks, this will not only have a material impact on cost reduction by moving road freight from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City but also reduce carbon footprint considerably. Connecting Cambodia directly to this service means that we can start to become a viable alternative to more expensive truck – ocean, or ocean – air services. There are natural benefits for clients to reduce inventory cash burn which have been caused by excessive transit times through inefficient feeder connectivity into major hub ports. The service offers a viable alternative to more expensive transportation modes such as air while mitigating the impact to man-made global warming. We are confident that clients with a need for speed, safety and sustainability will find our offer extremely compelling,” said Rufus Frere-Smith, Regional Head, Americas, Swire Shipping.

Swire Shipping launched its Vietnam – Seattle Express – known as “Sun Chief” with UWL –a top 10 American-owned NVOCC and provider of global 3PL services – in April 2022 when it announced that it had launched the market’s fastest service between Ho Chi Minh City and Seattle. Since the launch of this service, major Fortune 500 customers have committed long term contracts with the service. “We are extremely pleased with this response and to be able to offer a dedicated solution which guarantees space and fast transit times for high value products which have a need for speed. By connecting Cambodia to the service, we are confident that we will continue to deliver both value and speed to customers while helping them to mitigate supply chain risk. This feeder service will also reduce the high dependence on expensive cross border trucking between Cambodian manufacturing facilities and the Port of Ho Chi Minh City,” added Mr Frere-Smith.

Upon arrival at Ho Chi Minh City, containers are then loaded onto the bi-weekly, 18-day service on Sun Chief before sailing to Seattle.

“During this highly volatile time in the shipping industry, customers have been looking for faster, reliable service to the West Coast,” said UWL President Duncan Wright. “Our goal with this new service is to provide a predictable, premium product connecting 100 percent to Seattle on every express voyage from Ho Chi Minh. By doing so we will help importers reduce their supply chain risk.”

Linking Cambodia with this service, said Mr Wright, is seen as “a natural extension” into another important Asian market where there are no direct calls, and no good connections from Phnom Penh to the U.S. West Coast. Transits can take as many as 50 to 60 days.

UWL’s new feeder service from Cambodia not only cuts those transit times in half but provides importers with other advantages associated with the express Ho Chi Minh – Seattle service. Those include priority berthing at both origin and destination and a dedicated equipment pool for suppliers in Ho Chi Minh City. This includes 6,000 brand-new ocean containers, with 40-foot-high cube and 20-foot containers already in the rotation. Predictability is assured, as schedules are published six months in advance, with two sailings per month.

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