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Westwood Adopts Swire Shipping Name

[ February 8, 2024   //   ]

Multipurpose vessel operator Swire Shipping said Westwood Shipping Lines, a niche vessel operator acquired in June 2022, has integrated and has taken on the Swire Shipping name.
Westwood Shipping operates between the Pacific Northwest and Northeast Asia, and Swire Shipping’s acquisition was part of the Singapore-based company’s growth strategy to expand its North American liner network.
The rebranding “enables a more seamless customer experience, leveraging synergies and capabilities in containers, networks, and projects across the global Swire Shipping network,” serving North America, Japan, South Korea and China, Swire Shipping said in a release Feb. 1.
“The integration of Westwood Shipping Lines reflects our continued investment and expansion in the North Pacific,” said Ben Pike, chief operating officer, Swire Shipping.
The company will operate a regional hub out of Puyallup, Washington. Seven Swire Shipping-owned vessels operate on the Westwood service, along with four vessels that will retain the Westwood name and green hulls in observance of its 130 years of operation.
The Westwood has joined Swire Shipping’s other services in North America with the Sun Chief Express Ocean Service and the US West Coast – Pacific Islands service, said Harry Stones, Swire Shipping North America’s new president.
Swire Shipping, the ship-owning arm of the Swire group, will also establish an office in Tokyo, Japan to serve customers more directly, the carrier said. Swire Shipping will consolidate its agency representations in Japan, with Ben Line Agencies (Japan) Ltd., and Senwa Maritime Agency Ltd., will be transferred to the new branch office.

Four vessels will retain the Westwood name and green hulls. PHOTO: Swire Shipping

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