Evergreen's HTW Returns to Tacoma With 13 Weekly Calls Through January

Evergreen Marine's HTW service is back in Tacoma, and it's arriving with 13 consecutive weekly calls scheduled from late October through January at Pierce County Terminal. The first vessel is the 15,372 TEU EVER MACH. For a gateway moving peak harvest volumes of refrigerated cargo, the timing is the whole story.

The Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) frames the return as added ocean capacity at a critical juncture. Pacific Northwest growers and producers are currently moving peak volumes of refrigerated agricultural commodities, most notably apples and fresh potatoes. A weekly string of large vessels landing mid-harvest is the difference between reefer cargo rolling and reefer cargo sailing.

What does this change for exporters?

Mostly options, which in reefer logistics count for a lot. The NWSA is the second-largest refrigerated export gateway in the United States, and Evergreen already ranks among the gateway's leading ocean carriers for refrigerated exports. Restoring a suspended weekly loop adds direct capacity during the roughly three-month window when regional agricultural output is at its heaviest.

The inland side underpins the deal. Inland rail hubs in Minot, North Dakota; Pocatello, Idaho; and Wallula, Washington connect key growing regions to the marine terminals. Apples picked in eastern Washington or potatoes railed out of Idaho reach Tacoma without a trucking detour through another port complex.

Port leadership reacts

Dick Marzano, NWSA Co-Chair and Port of Tacoma Commission President, called the NWSA a critical connection between US agricultural producers and international customers. He noted that reliable ocean service and additional capacity during peak harvest season expands options for growers in eastern Washington and across the region.

Ryan Calkins, NWSA Co-Chair and Port of Seattle Commission President, pointed to the full chain rather than the ships alone. He said the combination of inland rail connectivity, marine terminal infrastructure and ocean service gives agricultural exporters an efficient path from farm to global markets, with Evergreen's additional weekly service building on that connectivity during one of the busiest periods of the year for regional agriculture.

Two co-chairs, one message: the rails, the terminals and the vessels only pay off as a set.

The commercial read

For shippers, an extra weekly product in the Pacific Northwest means more booking flexibility and less dependence on rerouting reefer boxes south to other gateways during the crunch. For Evergreen, it signals confidence that PNW reefer demand supports a weekly slot commitment through January rather than a seasonal one-off. For the NWSA, winning back a service is the kind of win that compounds — carriers and cargo both follow capacity.

The stakes are concrete. Thirteen calls from one 15,000-TEU-class vessel string is meaningful headroom for a gateway whose export calendar is bunched into a few harvest months.

The schedule runs weekly from late October through January. After that, the harvest fades, and the usual question returns: whether the capacity stays or the loop goes quiet again.

By Amara Osei