SM Shipping Deploys 17th Temporary Vessel on Transpacific Route

Containers from SM Shipping are arriving at the Portland terminal in the United States, awaiting dispatch.

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] SM Line announced on the 15th that it has added a temporary vessel to the trans-Pacific route to support domestic shippers.

The temporary vessel ‘SM Portland,’ the 17th ship deployed by SM Line, departed from Busan New Port (PNC) on the same day, carrying cargo from domestic export companies to Vancouver, Canada.

The main exported goods loaded include auto parts, batteries, chemical products, furniture, home appliances, and cosmetics. This vessel was recently acquired by SM Line to immediately provide shipping space to shippers facing export difficulties due to the logistics crisis. It can carry 4,300 20-foot (approximately 6m) containers. After the temporary deployment, the vessel will be assigned to the trans-Pacific west coast route.

SM Line, a shipping affiliate of SM Group, is striving to resolve difficulties faced by domestic companies struggling with exports amid global logistics supply chain uncertainties. SM Line has signed a business agreement with the Korea International Trade Association and provides dedicated shipping space weekly for small and medium export shippers. It plans to deploy more than 10 additional temporary vessels by the end of this year.

Park Ki-hoon, CEO of SM Line, said, “Recently, freight rates at foreign ports such as Shanghai, China, have become higher than those at Busan Port,” adding, “As a national deep-sea shipping company, we are organizing schedules to prioritize temporary vessels calling at Busan Port to fulfill our responsibilities.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.