OOCL expands coastal offering

USING a combination of rail and sea, from next month OOCL will offer shippers a “seamless” Brisbane-Fremantle service with a 14-day transit. 

 The carrier will landbridge from the Bromelton rail terminal south of Brisbane using railco Aurizon to connect with the Triple A consortium’s weekly AAA2 service at Port Botany, and thence by sea to Fremantle. 

 OOCL says the service offers full container drop-off at Bromelton, where the detention clock stops, and flexible delivery options in Fremantle, including Fremantle terminal pick-up or onward movement to ICD Forrestfield by Intermodal Container Services, all on a through Bill of Lading. 

 The first east-west sea-leg will be undertaken by a consortium partner vessel, the 4,249 TEU Cosco Genoa, due to sail Port Botany 6 February and arrive Fremantle 15 February, according to carrier schedules. 

 Tim Mason, OOCL’s regional sales manager ANZ, said the new Brisbane–Perth coastal service “reflects our efforts to provide the services our customers have been asking for.  

 “OOCL has been a long-term provider our coastal seafreight services between Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, and our customers have often asked when will OOCL be offering a service ex Brisbane. By offering the multi-modal rail + sea service, we are confident it will provide a reliable coastal connection for our Queensland customers to service their Perth / WA market,” Mr Mason said.   

 “The added service advantage OOCL has when the containers arrive in Fremantle is our rail connection to ICD Forrestfield.  

 “Once containers are discharged in Fremantle, customers may decide to have their containers railed 35km to Forrestfield, which is a suburb on the edge of the Perth CBD and in the heartland of the Warehouse & Distribution Centre Precinct of the Perth region.  

 “This rail connection will bypass any potential road congestion in the Fremantle port precinct during the year-long upgrade of the Swan River Bridge that starts in February. 

  “This new service provides a reliable and efficient east to west coastal shipping option,” Mr Mason said. Bookings are available through FreightSmart.