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Issue 4 2021 - FBJNA


r ec ei vin g new vessel


calls in February, when CMA CGM launched its Flamingo Express, a weekly service that connects Fort Lauderdale to the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, St. Martin, Haiti, and Jamaica aboard two CMA CGM vessels. The carrier expects the service will offer competitive transit times for refrigerated cargoes and garments exports. “This is the start of an


advantageous partnership between Port Everglades and one of the largest cargo shipping companies in the


Evergreen Shipping launched a weekly container service last year, connecting the Port of New Orleans to the Caribbean ports of Manzanillo, Colon, Kingston, and Port Au Prince, supporting Port NOLA’s growing export business for poultry and agricultural products. (Credit: Evergreen)


world,” said Jonathan Daniels, chief


director at Port Everglades. Also at Port Everglades, a


county commission approved an agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in December to move forward with a project to deepen the port’s channel from 42 feet to 50 feet and widen channel areas to allow the port to better accommodate larger container and petroleum ships. That project is expected to be completed in 2029.


PortMiami Benefits from Seaboard Marine


PortMiami, one of the largest U.S. gateways to Latin America and the Caribbean, began benefitting from an


executive and port


enhancement to Seaboard Marine’s service to Colombia last year, which reduces transit times on the weekly service from Barranquilla, Cartagena, and Santa Marta by two days. “The fast northbound sailing


to PortMiami from Colombia is ideal for customers transporting refrigerated and other time-sensitive cargo,” said Piero Buitano, Seaboard Marine’s vice president for South America. Seaboard Marine also


added 1,370 new refrigerated cargo containers to its fleet during the second half of 2020, part of an investment in over 6,000 new refrigerated cargo containers in the last five years. PortMiami has experienced record cargo volumes in recent


months. The container figures for October 2020 through January 2021 represented the busiest four-month period for cargo activity in the port’s history. The port attributes the strong performance in


part


to $1 billion in infrastructure improvements completed last year, including deepening waterways


to 52 feet,


acquisition of the largest super postpanamax cranes in the southeast, completion of a new tunnel that connects the port to interstate highways, and


construction of The Port of Jacksonville’s $50


million in intermodal rail modernizations. The port’s growth is also


“a reflection of the resilience of our community and the role played by our seaport,” said Rebeca Sosa, chair


most significant trading partner is Puerto Rico, with over 85% of all containerized exports and imports moving between the U.S. mainland and the island commonwealth being handled at the port. The three large Jones Act carriers handling this cargo— Crowley Maritime, TOTE Maritime, and Trailer Bridge— are all headquartered in Jacksonville. TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico enhanced its fleet of refrigerated containers in recent months, with the addition of 220 40-foot and 45- foot high-cube containers. As these carriers


diversified their businesses throughout the Caribbean and elsewhere in the Americas,


The latest phase of berth enhancements at the SSA Jacksonville Container Terminal at Blount Island was completed earlier this year. (Credit: JAXPORT)


of Miami-Dade County’s PortMiami committee, who credited terminal operators, ILA members, and truckers “for keeping a steady flow of essential cargo moving from ship to shelf during” COVID.


JAXPORT and Puerto Rico


JAXPORT has enjoyed new business opportunities as a result. A port strategic plan


JAXPORT’s top-three export trades for vehicles. Among JAXPORT’s ongoing


released in February emphasizes capitalizing


improvements, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is


///CARIBBEAN/LATIN AMERICA


Port Everglades is moving forward along with the US Army Corps of Engineers to deepen the port’s channel from 42 to 50 feet. (Credit: Port Everglades)


on these opportunities to attract new ocean carrier calls and strengthening the port’s market position


in


automobiles. “A lot of plans just go up


on the shelf and are never executed, but that’s not the case here,” said JAXPORT CEO Eric Green. “We are embracing this opportunity


to take


JAXPORT to the next level.” JAXPORT saw vehicle and


container volumes rebound during the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, with vehicle volumes growing by 7% and container volumes by 5%. The Caribbean represents one of


progressing on the project to deepen the Jacksonville shipping channel to 47 feet from its current 40 feet. In January, the latest phase of $104 million in berth enhancements at the SSA Jacksonville Container Terminal at Blount Island was completed, adding 700 additional feet and allowing the terminal


simultaneously accommodate two postpanamax ships. “As consumer trends


continue to shift, and e-commerce grows, efficiency b e c o m e s in creasingly


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