New UK-Based Shipping Line Opens JAXPORT to Europe
Florida’s largest container port by volume just increased its load capacity with the announcement of new direct container service between Europe and the Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT).
By the end of this month, U.K.-based Ellerman City Liners will begin calling at the SSA Jacksonville Container Terminal (JCT) at JAXPORT’s Blount Island Terminal every two weeks. The service will offer premium transit times of 13 to 17 days with port rotation from Antwerp, Belgium; Rotterdam, Netherlands; Tilbury, England; New York; Wilmington, NC; and Jacksonville.
The ship that will call on Jacksonville – the SC Mara – can carry the equivalent of 5,060 20-foot-long containers and move a variety of consumer goods through JAXPORT, such as auto parts, clothing, and wine and spirits, while providing export capabilities for made-in-U.S. goods, including forest products.
“Jacksonville’s location, the capabilities of our port partners, and lack of congestion continue to attract the interest of ocean carriers like Ellerman looking to take advantage of JAXPORT’s efficiencies,” said JAXPORT Director of Ocean Carrier Development Joyssy Woody.
JAXPORT currently has 140 direct ocean service connections in 70 countries. This year’s completion of the harbor deepening project through the Blount Island Terminal to 47-foot depths combined with a $100 million berth enhancement at SSA JCT, enhances the port’s ability to grow to meet the needs of modern vessels.
Jacksonville has long been recognized as “America’s Logistics Center” due to the region’s rich logistics infrastructure and key location as the Westernmost point on the Eastern seaboard, reaching 98 million U.S. consumers in one day.