EASTERN CAR LINER, LTD.
PIONEERING THE MOVEMENT OF OVERDIMENSIONAL CARGO Powered by Inside Marine
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EASTERN CAR LINER AMERICAS
I PROFILE
Eastern Car Liner, Ltd. (ECL) was established in May 1977 to provide transportation services for RoRo and breakbulk cargo to Southeast Asia. The company now operates more than 50 services a month from Japan to other Asia-Pacific countries and the intra-southeast region, with both breakbulk and RoRo services. Bill Christ, Executive VP and COO of ECL Americas, Inc. explained more to Hannah Barnett.
he Covid years brought challenges
T
share the customer’s dream and play
across the shipping industry and
a helping hand in achieving their goals
beyond. For ECL, steep price hikes
of moving their cargo and products.”
of cargo over to its services, and the
A hive of activity
company had to adapt accordingly.
ECL operates multiple transportation
Luckily, being adaptable is what ECL does:
services out of Japan, South Korea, and
“It’s an attitude that the whole company
China going southbound to the Philippines,
and CEO, Shigeru Nagate, have,” Executive
Indonesia, and Malaysia. It runs a regular
VP and COO of the North American division
RoRo service to Western Australia and the
Bill Christ, explained. “We pride ourselves
Middle East; Singapore is therefore a major
in taking care of whatever the customer
hub for the company.
in the container sector meant an influx
needs and adjusting where necessary. One of the company philosophies is to
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The Intra Asia service is one ECL’s strongest areas, providing liner services
with 13,000 DWT multipurpose vessels up
minor ports in Asia. ECL has also been
to 150-ton crane capacity. The company
making some spot voyages to Europe
also provides breakbulk ocean liner ser-
using its North America vessels.
vices to and from Asia and North America and is also a licensed and bonded truck brokerage, specializing in the movement of heavy and oversized cargo throughout mainland USA, Canada, and Mexico. The company has two vessel operating subsidiaries: Network Cross Trade Ltd (NEXT) based in China and EAL Everett Asia Line Pte, Ltd (EAL) based in Singapore – the latter operating in the Bay of Bengal, India, and also provides feeder service from Singapore to some of the
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EASTERN CAR LINER AMERICAS
I PROFILE
“At any given time, the different group
America regularly has three ships in service.
divisions will bring in spot vessels to fill out
But we’ve got one more coming in over
additional needs,” Mr Christ explained. “For
the next few months to fill out additional
example, the trans-Pacific route in North
capacity needs for our customers, and so we can perform better.” This hub of activity is complemented by its 164 staff and net sales last year exceeding US$ 632 million.
The winds of change As both a RoRo and conventional breakbulk carrier, ECL prides itself on being a niche transporter, providing tailored services and continuing to adapt to the sector’s changing needs. The company has recently launched four new build Coral-class 14,000 DWT multipurpose ships, with a fifth set for early 2024. “What I’m really excited about for the North America service is that we have plans to build a 17,000 DWT multipurpose ship with two times 250-ton crane capacity,
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combinable to 500 tons,” said Mr Christ.
routes. So we’re going to try to serve our
“That probably won’t come out until mid
clients better there with more sailing
2025 or early 2026. But it’s going to give
frequencies and faster times as that
us not only a slightly larger ship, but
market changes.”
increased lift capacity, which will allow us to take on a lot of other cargo.” One trend the company has had to respond to is the increased movement of
The company has also responded to an increase in construction machinery cargo to North America over the last few years. Mr Christ expects the trend to continue.
electric vehicles across countries and con-
“It is primarily new machinery, but a lot is
tinents. Clearly, as EV production increases,
used too,” he explained. “Excavators, dump
so too does transportation of them.
trucks, mobile cranes all coming inbound to
“This trend is particularly coming out of
North America, with every vessel quite full.
China,” said Mr Christ. “And what is prob-
I think traditionally this cargo has been with
ably going to happen in the coming years
other RoRo carriers, but the volume has
is a lot more of that production is going to
been growing for all the manufacturers and
shift to other third country areas. We think
importers and extra capacity is needed, so
that we can be useful in those shorter
we’ve adjusted to take on a lot more.”
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EASTERN CAR LINER AMERICAS
I PROFILE
The company operates a marine technical department with 20 port captains based in Tokyo, and more at various key overseas subsidiary offices. For every voyage port call, the port captains will issue detailed loading or discharging instructions. “Obviously, the goal is to keep damage to the absolute minimum,” Mr Christ said. “when it does occur, we issue advisory memos to all stations pointing out what occurred and how to correct it. I know that our primary stevedore here in North America, SSA, has told us that they wish all carriers would give the same detailed instructions and attention to cargo that we do. “And something that I’ve noticed is that
Strong partnerships
very little, if any, damage occurs with
Amidst this flux, ECL stands out with its
the increased amount of construction
exemplary customer service. “I think it’s
machinery and excavators that we’ve
an attitude we have – that we are in part-
been bringing in. I see other carriers, with
nership with the customer,” as Mr Christ
a lot of heavy machinery being loaded
put it.
and unloaded, where things do happen.
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“But we keep it to a minimum, thanks to
been in charge of ECL Americas for 15 years
that attention to operational control.”
now and I had 21 years prior to that as
True to its roots, all areas of the company
a project freight forwarder. Whether it’s
operate a Japanese style of business which
on ships, trucks, or working with other
prizes long term, close relationships with
carriers, handling cargo is in my blood.” n
customers and suppliers. “Being part of a customer’s supply chain and operations should be like being an extension of the customer,” Mr Christ explained. “We take pride handling their cargo. And I see the same thing in terms of the vendors and stevedores we work with: we keep them close and make sure to communicate clearly. We treat our stevedores as we treat our customers, and in turn we want them to give our cargo the same care.” Mr Christ extends the same passionate philosophy to his own work. This is not a job he is likely to get bored of anytime soon. “I have four close siblings and they’re all either retired or soon to be,” he concluded. “I’m of that age too, but I still drive to work every morning excited for the challenges of the day ahead – without even considering retirement or slowing down. I’ve
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