APL

APL, the world's seventh largest container shipping line, scooped two gongs at this year'sSeatrade Asia shipping awards.

An international panel of maritime judges awarded APL with the liner owner/operator and environment protection gongs at the event in Hong Kong last Friday (June 17).

The liner owner/operator award was given to the shipping line in Asia judged best in class in schedule reliability and network development, as well as innovation in customer service, APL said in a press release.

The environment protection award went to the organisation that had taken significant steps to reduce its environmental footprint, invest in green technology and promote environmental awareness.

'Winning these awards reflects our commitment to our customers and to sustainable global trade,' said Alvin See, vice president for APL in Hong Kong and South China.

In May, APL became the first and only carrier to cold-iron ships at the Port of Oakland, thereby eliminating vessel exhaust at berth. And in April, it became the first carrier to switch vessels to cleaner-burning low-sulphur fuel at the Port of Singapore.

APL was also a finalist in the technical innovation category of the Seatrade Asia Awards.

Meanwhile, APL's third-party logistics arm, APL Logistics, has begun deploying its own fleet of 53ft containers in the North American intermodal market.

The logistics operator's first boxes hit highways and railways in the region in late-May, the firm announced in a statement.

The fleet is expected to reach 1,000 units by late August, and continue to rise until the end of the year.

APL Logistics said its move to launch its own fleet of containers comes at a time when an industry-wide equipment crunch introduces greater uncertainty into the supply chains of manufacturers and retailers across the US, Canada and Mexico.

The new additions supplement containers provided by APL Logistics' railway partners.

'We're putting our own containers into the market to better assure our North American customers of equipment availability and uninterrupted freight services,' said Dave Howland, APL Logistics' vice president for land transport services.