The Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) recently welcomed the 10,070 TEU containership Tianjin, operated by ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM).
The boxship made its maiden call to the port’s Blount Island Marine Terminal as part of ZIM’s new Asia to North America service, offered through an agreement with the 2M alliance.
The shipping line now offers direct service from Jacksonville to Kingston, Jamaica; Xingang, Qingdao, Shanghai and Ningbo in China; and Busan, South Korea.
“The arrival of ZIM is a result of the successful investment of local, federal and state dollars for the Jacksonville Harbor Deepening project and other port growth projects, plus our reputation for operational excellence,” Kristen DeMarco, JAXPORT’s Chief Commercial Officer, said.
“This is a monumental occasion for JAXPORT and a milestone in the overall evolution of the port. Ocean carriers are not waiting for the deepening project to be complete, they are investing in Jacksonville now and Northeast Florida’s economy will benefit.”
JAXPORT informed that the deepening of Jacksonville’s shipping channel to 47 feet to accommodate even more cargo aboard the largest ships calling the U.S. East Coast is well underway. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently awarded the contract for the second phase of the project as contractors continue to make progress on phase one.