Jacksonville gets new shipping connection to west coast of South America (Courtesy of the Jacksonville Business Journal) — Ocean carrier Mediterranean Shipping Co. has ramped up its level of activity in Jacksonville, beginning a new connection between the First Coast and the west coast of South America.
As part of the change, the shipping line has upgraded the capacity of the vessels calling at Jacksonville, with the ships now carrying the equivalent of 9,000 containers, according to the Jacksonville Port Authority.
The move comes several months after the Swiss company upped the frequency at which its ships bring cargo from ports in the Baltic Sea to Jacksonville, increasing from every other week to every week.
The new connection is a result of MSC combining that Scandanavian-Baltic service with its route between Northern Europe and South America. It adds service between Jacksonville and ports in Ecuador, Peru, Panama and Costa Rica, according to Jaxport.
“These new connections are another significant step in our strategy to diversify our trade lanes and serve global markets,” said Jaxport Chief Commercial Officer Robert Peek in a statement. “The new Ecuador-NWC and Scan Baltic-USA rotation expands our reach by offering direct service to new ports, enhancing our customers’ abilities to move cargo efficiently around the world.”
The new rotation is good for moving refrigerated cargo, food products, clothing and other retail items, according to Jaxport.