Mediterranean Shipping Co. will start weekly Caribbean container service at Blount Island Marine Terminal in April.
JaxPort CEO Eric Green announced the new service March 28 at the port authority’s board meeting.
The addition will connect Jacksonville to hubs in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas, JaxPort said in a news release.
Geneva, Switzerland-based MSC operates three other services at JaxPort. According to the company’s website, MSC has a presence in 155 countries, a fleet of 600 vessels and more than 100,000 employees.
It is the second new container service JaxPort announced this month. At a March 3 event with Gov. Ron DeSantis, port officials said Singapore-based global ocean carrier Sea Lead Shipping Pte Ltd. will bring its first U.S. East Coast container service to Jacksonville.
Director and General Manager of Business Development Robert Peek told board members March 28 that the two services will generate a total of $800,000 in annual revenue and bring 30,000 additional containers through the port.
MSC’s Florida Gulf Feeder service includes Freeport, Bahamas; Rio Haina and Caucedo, Dominican Republic; and Fort Lauderdale. JaxPort’s SSA Atlantic will provide stevedoring services at Blount Island, the release said.
“This service expands our global reach by growing transshipment opportunities between Jacksonville and every major port in the world,” Green said in the release. “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.”
Peek said the MSC is bringing JaxPort’s first container connection to the Dominican Republic.
The release said the Florida Gulf Feeder would complement 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, according to the release.
The news release says the cargo ship MSC MSC Reet II is scheduled to arrive in Jacksonville on April 12.
Sea Lead plans to start its service to JaxPort on May 7 and will add what port officials say is an important link to Asian ports in China and South Korea.
“Our local shippers need that,” Peek said.
Port officials cited JaxPort’s absence of port congestion as a factor for landing the two new services.