K Line Vessel Arrives at Georgia Port

The Japanese global shipping company, K Line, and the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) announced a new partnership with the arrival of the new K Line vessel, Delaware Bridge, at the Port of Savannah. The arrival of the vessel establishes the beginning of a new service/consortium between the GPA and the Far East, further cementing the Port of Savannah's reputation as one of the Nation's leading containerports. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd., or K-Line, will deploy ships to Savannah in a joint operating agreement with COSCO of China, Yang Ming of Taiwan and Hanjin of South Korea. This new service gives the Port of Savannah a total of 13 all-water, weekly services to and from Asia. "Georgia has long been an important market for us," said Ray McDermott, Vice President of "K" Line America, Inc., the world's seventh largest container shipping company. "With this announcement today, we look forward to strengthening our relationship with our customers, as well as opening up additional opportunities for new customers." In his announcement of "K" Line's new service/consortium, Marchand called the shipping company's decision "another indication that our ability to expand, invest in new equipment, hire additional trained personnel and build an extremely efficient system of handling containers is paying off." The Savannah area is now home to 12 major distribution centers, employing more than 3,500 Georgians and helping to provide an anchor for trade from Asia. This new service will also provide increased export opportunities for Georgia-based products such as kaolin clay and forest products. In the first eight months of FY03 alone, the Port of Savannah handled more than 1 million TEUs, a 33.7 percent increase over the previous year and an all-time record for the port. "This announcement today will further cement Savannah's reputation as a major regional cargo hub," Marchand added.