Evergreen initiates South Korea-Vietnam service

Evergreen is offering a direct service between South Korea and Vietnam, for the first time, with a new Korea-China-Vietnam (KCV) service starting mid-April.

The Taiwanese liner operator is joining its rivals in targeting cargo growth in Vietnam by deploying three ships, each with capacity ranging from 1,600TEU to 1,800TEU.

KCV’s service route will be Busan, Ulsan, Gwangyang, Shanghai, Ningbo, Hong Kong, Shekou, Danang, Hai Phong, Taichung, Taipei, Hakata and Busan.

Launch of the KCV will take place on 15 April when Evergreen’s chartered vessel, the 1,800TEU Green Clarity, departs Danang. On 17 April, Evergreen’s owned 1,600TEU ship, Uni-Promote will depart Busan; this vessel will be joined by a sister unit, Uni-Premier.

Previously, Evergreen carried South Korean exports to Vietnam by transhipment from its home port, Kaohsiung.

The carrier has been developing its connection and began offering such a service in February through a slot charter deal on the Osaka-Kobe-Yokohama-Nagoya-Qingdao-Shanghai-Ho Chi Minh City leg of Sealand Asia’s IA-88 service. This enabled Evergreen to offer a connection between Japan and southern Vietnam.

Vietnam continues to generate more containerised exports leading a number of carriers to expand their South East Asian connections. Volumes between East Asia and South East Asia, especially Vietnam, increased after US-China trade tensions caused manufacturers to shift some production from China to Vietnam.

Martina Li
Asia Correspondent