Arriving in the harbor on the morning of July 11, the first Westwood Shipping Lines vessel to call at the Port of Portland received a warm welcome at Terminal 6. The Westwood Victoria officially signaled the start of a new service from Portland to Japan and Korea for regional containerized exports.
A group representing longshore workers, pilots, Port staff, Westwood employees and customers boarded the vessel for a brief presentation. As a Portland Fire & Rescue boat provided a customary welcoming in the background, Capt. Elvis Daoang was presented with a plaque commemorating the occasion by Bill Wyatt, executive director for the Port, and Guy Stephenson, president of Westwood Shipping Lines.
“We are very pleased to welcome this first ship here,” said Stephenson. “It marks the beginning of what we hope will be a long and successful partnership with the Port of Portland.”
The Port announced the Westwood service in May, and the expanded lineup of ports came as welcome news to a number of agricultural producers and wood product manufacturers located in the valley, upriver and inland. Westwood provides service to more ports in Japan on a direct call basis than any other carrier. Ports of call include Yokohama, Shimizu, Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Busan, South Korea.
Related Link:
Westwood Shipping Lines