PORTLAND: For the first time in 3 months, a container ship will leave the Port of Portland’s Terminal 6 and head to Asia with a cargo hold full of local goods and products.
The Longshoremen Worker’s Union and ICTSI — the company that runs Terminal 6 — officially ended their labor struggle a few months ago. But the fallout at the port has been devastating.
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The Rainier container ship, which is owned by Westwood Shipping, was loaded with local forest and agricultural products on Tuesday before heading to Korea and Japan. According to its schedule, the vessel will arrive in just under 3 weeks.
Before labor strife caused work stoppages and slowdowns, the Oregon-Asia connection at Terminal 6 was dominated by Hanjin Shipping; the company made up 80% of all business at the terminal.
But when Hanjin and another major shipping company, Hapag-Lloyd, pulled out — saying it was taking too long to load and unload ships — they took with them billions of dollars in business.
In 2010, ICTSI signed a 25-year lease to operate Terminal 6. On Tuesday, officials released a statement saying they are, “diligently working with the port to confirm all equipment is ready to work in a safe and efficient manner.”
