Value of Port investment in deep water, greater capacity, and super-sized container cranes being realized
  • Who: Port of Oakland and Hanjin Shipping
  • What: (mega ship) at Oakland seaport
  • Where: Hanjin Terminal at Port of Oakland (2505 Middle Harbor Road, Oakland)
  • When: Saturday, January 7, 2006 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. (photo ops will begin dockside at 4 p.m.; time of boarding for the media may begin as early as 4:30 p.m. or as late as 6:30 p.m. depending on docking schedule)
  • Why: Arrival of the super-sized container ship indicates benefits from the Port of Oakland's investment in expanding and improving seaport are being realized.

Oakland, CA - January 7, 2006 - Port of Oakland will welcome the Hanjin Dallas, an approximately 8,000 TEU (Twenty-foot equivalent) mega ship deployed in Hanjin Shipping's Asia-U.S. West Coast service, Saturday, January 7, 2006 on its maiden voyage to the Oakland seaport. With the Port's Vision 2000 maritime expansion program, to date, the Port of Oakland has spent upwards of $800 million investing in expanding the seaport, providing greater container handling capacity, deepening the Oakland harbor and berths and making other significant infrastructure improvements including adding 19 hi-tech super post-Panamax cranes. All of these enhancements have been designed specifically to handle the new super-sized container ships and the increase in maritime business.

Port of Oakland's Director of Maritime, Wilson Lacy, said, 'Everything we've been doing over the last several years has been expressly to keep the Port of Oakland competitive as an international gateway benefiting our region and the nation.' Lacy went on to say, 'The arrival of the Hanjin Dallas clearly demonstrates that the significant investment we've made in our infrastructure was the right thing to do.'

Cargo demand from Asia to the U.S. resulted in more goods moving through the Port of Oakland in 2005 and growth is expected to continue in 2006. As international trade continues to expand, shipping companies are having larger, more efficient vessels built to handle the increased volume of business.

Ron Brown, Manager of Business Development and Marketing in the Port of Oakland's maritime division said that you can't really appreciate the size of the Hanjin Dallas unless you see it, 'The vessel is wide enough to hold 18 rows of containers and is nearly a thousand feet long. We're very pleased that Hanjin is bringing this new ship to the Oakland seaport. The Port of Oakland provides Pacific Rim trading partners with a large local market for their goods as well as direct rail connections for intermodal cargo destined for America's heartland,' added Brown. The Hanjin Dallas is part of the Pacific Express Service (PSX) connecting Oakland with the overseas ports of Yantian, Hong Kong, Kaohsiung, Gwangyang and Pusan.

Commerce is growing faster than ever between Asia and the U.S. More than one in seven jobs in California is tied to trade. The value of international trade to California exceeds $350 billion annually.