Puyallup-based shipping line with historic ties to Weyerhaeuser gains new ownership

Westwood Shipping Lines of Puyallup on Thursday said the $176.3 million acquisition of its company by Swire Shipping of Singapore has been completed, in a move first publicly announced in April.

Westwood CEO Jack Mahoney said the move, first in discussions the latter part of 2021, would allow it to work in partnership with Swire to better serve customers.

Westwood specializes in trade between the Pacific Northwest and Northeast Asia, connecting markets in Japan and Korea with ports in Washington state and British Columbia and inland points in the United States and Canada.

The independent niche vessel operator handles oversized cargo, containers, breakbulk and forest products. It works out of the ports of Everett, Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., in the Northwest and employs about 108, with about 80 in its Puyallup office, according to Mahoney.

Westwood in April announced its parent company, J-WeSco Ltd., had signed a definitive agreement with Swire to sell the U.S.-based company “as part of a corporate strategy to focus on its core businesses of warehousing, stevedoring, real estate, and logistics,” according to Thursday’s release.

Swire specializes in heavy lift, refrigerated, breakbulk and mini-bulk cargoes, with business that encompasses 400 ports via an extensive network of services in the Asia-Pacific and around the world.

“We’re moving from strength to strength,” Mahoney told The News Tribune on Thursday. “There’ll be no layoffs. ... So I think it’s the best thing for our customers. It’s a very good development for the team here. And it’s very good for the company as well.”

Mahoney will retain his position and noted that Westwood will continue to provide its current services via its teams in Canada, China, Japan, Korea and the United States. Senwa Maritime Agency will continue to serve as Westwood’s general agent in Japan, along with Hyop Woon International Co., Ltd., as its agent in Korea.

Mahoney said current supply-chain issues were not what led to the deal and predicted that while the issues had gotten slightly better, port congestion would continue, perhaps “deep into the first half of next year.”

“It is improving, but it is still far from satisfactory,” he said. “So it’s not as bad as it has been, but port congestion is going to be an issue I believe, at least through this year.”

He said Westwood has offered reliablity amid the “supply-chain chaos and turmoil,” adding “which comes at great effort.”

“There will continue to be I think sustained demand for a carrier like Westwood to offer that different level of reliability,” he said. “With a new parent company that has shipping at its core, we’re only going to be able to do even better things for our customers.”

He added, “I can’t imagine a better outcome for Westwood..”

Westwood has a long history in the Puget Sound area, operating as a Weyerhaeuser subsidiary starting in the 1980s. Weyerhaeuser’s own shipping history dated back to 1892.

J-WeSco Ltd. purchased Westwood in 2011 from Weyerhaeuser. J-WeSco is a subsidiary of a group of Japanese companies led by Sumitomo Warehouse Co.

Swire marks its 150th business anniversary this year, starting out as the China Navigation Co. in 1872.