From September 2012, Japan's port of Nagoya will be added to Rickmers-Linie's round-the-world Pearl String Service schedule on a monthly basis.
Shippers will be able to ship directly to Houston, New Orleans, Savannah, Philadelphia, Antwerp and Hamburg. The service also offers additional relay opportunities over Rickmers' hub port in Houston to other ports in the Caribbean and Central/South America.
The upgraded service will employ nine Rickmers Hamburg-class vessels, purpose-designed conventional vessels with strengthened pontoon tweendecks, hold lengths up to 32 metres and shipboard cranes that can be twinned to lift up to 640 tonnes. These 30,000DWT ships are not dependent on the availability of landside heavylift cranes.
Richard Stinchcombe, Representative Director & CEO, Rickmers (Japan) Inc, commented:
"Adding an upgraded service with many additional ports of call will give companies in Nagoya the additional flexibility they seek and reconfirms Rickmers-Linie's commitment to Nagoya. Our specially-equipped vessels are extremely well suited for out-of-gauge and heavy cargoes."