The first ship associated with the new Grand Alliance service, docked on July 2 at the Port of Tacoma’s Washington United Terminals.

This ship call is the first of three new calls each week at Washington United Terminals as result of the new Grand Alliance business announced in March.

Port, terminal and shipping line officials celebrated the maiden ship call with a plaque presentation before crews began unloading and reloading the ship.

The Grand Alliance is a consortium of three of the world’s largest shipping lines, Hapag-Lloyd (based in Germany), Orient Overseas Container Line (Hong Kong) and NYK Line (Japan) and associated carrier ZIM Integrated Shipping (Israel).

The associated services will connect Tacoma to Europe and Central and South America, as well as Asia.

Washington United Terminals is a 105-acre container terminal on the Blair Waterway. The marine terminal features four post-Panamax and two super-post-Panamax cranes capable of handling the largest ships in the world, 51-foot water depth, on-dock rail and a newly extended berth measuring 2,600 feet.

The Port of Tacoma is an economic engine for South Puget Sound, with more than 43,000 family-wage jobs in Pierce County and 113,000 jobs across Washington state connected to Port activities. A major gateway to Asia and Alaska, the Port of Tacoma is among the largest container ports in North America. The Port is also a major center for bulk, breakbulk and project/heavy-lift cargoes, as well as automobiles and trucks.