Boston, China agree on weekly service

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Port Authority and a Chinese shipping company have
reached agreement on weekly steamship service between Boston and the Far East
starting next year — if minimum cargo quotas can be met. The China Ocean Shipping
Company Group, that country’s largest shipping company, proposes to begin weekly
service starting next January, the Boston Globe reported, if the cargo quotas
are met. Boston’s once thriving port had been steadily losing business in recent
years, to the extent that it has fallen behind Portland, Maine in terms of the
amount of cargo handled. Much of the area’s shipping service is directed through
the ports of New York or Halifax, Nova Scotia. The city suffered a major setback
last year when Maersk-Sealand shipping company abandoned its weekly service to
Boston. Only Mediterranean Shipping Company provides container service to Boston.