A new ocean carrier, The Containership Company AS (TCC), is preparing to launch a "no-frills" trans-Pacific service. Registered in Norway with corporate headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark, the line will operate on a weekly frequency between Los Angeles and China's Port of Taicang, located in the Jiangsu province about 40 miles northwest of Shanghai. The first vessel, the Taicang Dragon, is scheduled to sail from China on April 17 and arrive at the Port of Los Angeles on May 3. Ships in the service will have a capacity of between 2,500 and 3,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) - significantly smaller than the megaships that dominate trans-Pacific routes. Currently, goods emanating from the Taicang area must be moved by truck or feeder ship to Shanghai, where they are transferred to linehaul vessels. Jakob Tolstrup-Moller, chief executive officer of TCC, said in a statement that the new service will provide "a more direct link to the vast inland manufacturing base of the Jiangsu province." The line's fleet of containers is being handled by Eagle Hill Container Management. Norton Lilly International is acting as its agency on a worldwide basis. At the Port of Los Angeles, TCC ships will call the TraPac Container Terminal, owned by the Japanese transportation provider MOL.
