On Monday, April 18, the Hanjin Switzerland arrived on its maiden voyage calling at Maher Terminals in Elizabeth, NJ.

To salute this event, a commemorative plaque was presented to the ship’s Captain, Man Ho, by Port Commerce staff, along with representatives of Maher Terminals and Hanjin Shipping.

The new vessel is dedicated to the “AW8” string, which is operated in a Vessel Sharing Agreement (VSA), along with Hanjin’s four partners: COSCO, K-Line, Yang Ming, and Evergreen (CKYHE). The ship was launched in February this year from Hanjin’s shipbuilding subsidiary located in Subic, Philippines.

In addition to building the Switzerland, Hanjin remains operator of the new vessel.

The ship sailed directly to the Port of New York and New Jersey from Singapore via the Suez after calling ports in China and Southeast Asia. On arrival, the 8,500 TEU vessel transited inbound under the Bayonne Bridge to Maher, and moved more than 5,000 containers during its 36-hour stay in port.

As one of the many Suez services calling the Port of New York and New Jersey, the AW8 offers one of the fastest transits from Far East origins to U.S. markets. Intermodal rail cargo destined for Chicago and other inland points was loaded at Millennium Marine Rail’s near-dock facility in Elizabeth.