Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) recently announced Houston on the rotation in their Santana trans-Pacific service, which links Vietnam and Central China to the U.S. Gulf and East Coasts.

Port Houston will be the first port call in the United States for the service. The rotation is Haiphong – Shanghai – Ningbo – Houston – Charleston – New York – Haiphong, offering a 31-day transit time between Vietnam and Houston.

“MSC is a long-running, valued partner for us and MSC’s new service provides much-needed capacity in the trans-Pacific trade for Port Houston’s growing list of BCO customers,” said Port Houston Executive Director Roger Guenther. “MSC’s Santana service links Houston directly with Vietnam, an important and fast-growing market for our region.”

Port Houston saw double-digit growth for nine consecutive months in 2021 and surpassed the 3 million TEU mark in November 2021. Growth in imports from Asia have been an important contributor to the increased cargo numbers. MSC’s Santana service will be the second Vietnam direct call to Port Houston.

The first vessel on this service called Haiphong