DSV continues to charter ships to overcome the shipping capacity shortage, with vessels heading from Vietnam to the US.

The Danish forwarder has chartered the multipurpose Lila Mumbai, which has 1,864 teu of container capacity, from Greek owner Pontos Marine.

It arrived at SP-PSA International Port in Phu My, Vietnam, on Monday and departed for Busan on Tuesday, with its arrival expected on Sunday, from where Lila Mumbai will sail to the US west coast port of Everett, just north of Seattle.

Vietnam Maritime Corporation (VIMC, formerly Vinalines), which runs the Phu My terminal with Saigon Port and Singapore-based terminal operator PSA International, said 700 containers had been loaded onto Lila Mumbai for US retailers Home Depot, Costco and Walmart.

A DSV spokesperson told The Loadstar: “We do not comment on specific charters, but we can confirm that on an ongoing basis we charter vessels for dedicated project shipments.”

By sailing from Vietnam to the US, DSV will bypass the need for transhipment in Singapore and Hong Kong.

DSV agent Nguyen Manh Hao said: “This is an important milestone for our company. The number of customers already in the rapidly growing Vietnamese market provides goods for the global network.”

VIMC deputy general director Le Quang Trung said, “We hope this service is the beginning of many new direct shipments from Vietnam to the US.”

Exactly a year ago, DSV chartered three multipurpose vessels for direct sailing from Shanghai to the Danish port of Aarhus.

According to brokers, Lila Mumbai was sold for scrap in 2018, but was bought by an unknown owner, with Pontos Marine said to be the shipmanager. The vessel has been operated by Chipolbrok since March 2020, and has already made three transpacific runs since then.