EVERETT — The Westwood Shipping Line has called at the Port of Everett for decades.
Each week, the distinctive green-hulled vessels dock at the Everett seaport, carrying aerospace parts, containers and other large cargo.
They’re a familiar site for maritime enthusiasts who keep tabs on the port’s shipping terminal.
When Swire Shipping, a 151-year-old firm, acquired Westwood Shipping Lines two years ago, onlookers noted a slight change in the ships’ rigging. The vessels began displaying the Swire Shipping flag, two horizontal red triangles that rest against a vertical blue stripe running down the middle of the flag, all on a white background.
This month, another change took place — Swire changed the name of the Westwood Shipping Lines to Swire Shipping.
The Westwood line serves ports in the Pacific Northwest and Northeast Asia with seven ships: Vanuatu Chief, Nadi Chief, Tonga Chief and four Westwood branded ships, the Westwood Columbia, Westwood Olympia, Westwood Rainier and Westwood Victoria.
“With respect to the four Westwood ships, nothing will change,” Harry Stones, the Puyallup-based president of Swire Shipping North America, told The Daily Herald.
“The four green-hulled vessels will retain their green hulls,” Stones said. “It’s a very proud Pacific Northwest shipping trade and we respect that fully. A Swire flag has been painted on the ships, that’s the only thing that’s changed.”
The change took effect Feb. 1.
“Swire Shipping has a long-standing presence in Japan and South Korea. The rebranding of Westwood Shipping Lines further strengthens our position in these important markets,” Chris Robertson, the company’s general manager for Asia and the Northern Hemisphere, said in a statement.
The Everett seaport serves ships from all over the world, including Japan, Russia, China and Australia. The port specializes in high-value, oversized cargo such as aerospace components for the Boeing 767 and 777 production lines at Paine Field; windmill turbines; and military equipment.
Westwood Shipping was founded in 1892 by Weyerhaeuser, the wood products company.
In 2011, J-WeSco, a holding company formed by a consortium of Japanese stevedore companies, acquired the Westwood Shipping Lines.
Swire acquired Westwood in June 2022.
Janice Podsada: 425-339-3097; jpodsada@heraldnet.com;
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