Some shippers, frustrated at slow-steaming and dropped port calls, especially by the major trans-Pacific container carriers, are looking for other options.

Vice president for North American refrigerated services at Maersk Line, Bill Duggan, states: “The concept of a high-speed dedicated vessel has been discussed. We do get together and say, ‘What if we did this, or could we do that?’ It’s appealing in many ways, but there is a definite cost to the carrier. It all comes down to demand. Because the service would be more costly than on the regular slow-steaming routes, shippers would have to study the equation carefully. I’m not sure anyone would be willing to pay more for a service that would cost carriers a significant amount more.”

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