MSC adds new service at Jaxport

MSC’s Florida Gulf Feeder rotation connects Jacksonville to major transhipment hubs in the Dominican Republic and The Bahamas.

The service will begin calling the SSA Jacksonville Container Terminal (JCT) at Jaxport’s Blount Island Marine Terminal with the arrival of the container ship MSC Reet II on 12 April.

The port rotation will be Freeport, Bahamas – Rio Haina, Dominican Republic – Caucedo, Dominican Republic – Fort Lauderdale, Florida – Jacksonville, Florida.

SSA Atlantic will provide stevedoring services at Blount Island.

“This service expands our global reach by growing transhipment opportunities between Jacksonville and every major port in the world,” said Jaxport CEO Eric Green.

“We are grateful for the strong partnership with MSC and thank them for growing their business and the jobs and economic impact it supports in Jacksonville.”

The Florida Gulf Feeder will be MSC’s fourth service at Jaxport, complementing MSC’s existing service from Jacksonville to Freeport through its Canada Gulf Bridge and Bahamas Express services. MSC also connects Jacksonville to four ports in Asia through the 2M Alliance.

Early this month, Green announced that deepening the Jacksonville shipping channel to 14.3 metres, is on track to be completed through Jaxport’s Blount Island Marine Terminal as early as May 2022.

Related:Jaxport sets container volume record in FY 2021

In coordination with deepening, more than $100m in berth enhancements will be complete this summer to enable the SSA Jacksonville Container Terminal at Blount Island to simultaneously accommodate two post-Panamax ships.

By the end of 2022, Blount Island terminal operator SSA Atlantic will welcome three new eco-friendly container cranes and complete the first 9 hectares of a modernisation project to enable the facility to accommodate more containers.