Evergreen restores HTW service calls at Tacoma for agricultural export season

Evergreen Marine is returning its HTW service to Tacoma, Washington, with a series of weekly vessel calls scheduled to support agricultural exporters during the Pacific Northwest’s peak refrigerated export season.

According to the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA), the service is expected to make 13 consecutive weekly calls at Pierce County Terminal, beginning in late October and continuing through January. The first scheduled vessel is the EVER MACH, a containership with a capacity of 15,372 TEU.

The return of the service is intended to provide additional ocean shipping capacity as agricultural producers across the region move seasonal volumes of refrigerated commodities to international markets. Key export products include apples and fresh potatoes, which depend on refrigerated container equipment and access to ocean transport services.

Additional capacity for agricultural exporters

The Northwest Seaport Alliance, which manages the marine cargo operations of the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, identifies its gateway as the second-largest refrigerated export gateway in the United States.

Evergreen is among the gateway’s leading ocean carriers for refrigerated exports, making the return of its HTW service particularly relevant to agricultural shippers during the seasonal export period.

The additional weekly calls will expand the ocean transport options available to exporters using Tacoma, providing scheduled capacity during a period of increased demand for refrigerated cargo movements.

Dick Marzano, NWSA Co-Chair and Port of Tacoma Commission President, highlighted the importance of reliable ocean connections for agricultural producers across eastern Washington and the wider Pacific Northwest.

According to Marzano, the return of Evergreen’s service will give exporters additional options for moving their products to overseas customers during the harvest season.

Inland rail connections support export flows

The Tacoma gateway’s role in agricultural exports is supported by its inland rail and intermodal connections, which link producing regions with marine terminals and international shipping services.

The NWSA highlighted inland rail hubs in Minot, North Dakota; Pocatello, Idaho; and Wallula, Washington, as important connections for agricultural cargo moving through the gateway.

These facilities provide additional transport options for exporters moving products from inland growing regions to the ports of Seattle and Tacoma.

The gateway also benefits from agricultural transloading capacity, allowing cargo to be transferred between inland transport equipment and ocean containers before shipment.

Ryan Calkins, NWSA Co-Chair and Port of Seattle Commission President, emphasised the importance of combining rail connectivity, marine terminal infrastructure and ocean shipping services to support agricultural exports.

He said Evergreen’s additional weekly service would strengthen the gateway’s available capacity during one of the busiest periods for regional agricultural shipments.

Scheduled calls through January

The return of the HTW service forms part of the ocean transport options available to exporters using the Northwest Seaport Alliance gateway.

With the EVER MACH expected to initiate the series of calls in late October, Evergreen is scheduled to maintain weekly visits to Pierce County Terminal through January.

The arrangement adds capacity during the peak agricultural export season while connecting refrigerated cargo movements with the gateway’s existing marine terminal and inland logistics infrastructure.

For agricultural shippers in the Pacific Northwest and the US interior, the scheduled service provides an additional option for accessing international markets through Tacoma.