By Mark Young, SouthFloridaReporter.com Managing Editor, Aug 11, 2015 – If you travel along A-1-A in Fort Lauderdale,don’t be surprised if you start seeing more and more freighters and tankers off shore. They’re waiting their turn to enter Port Everglades.
It’s just going to get busier.
BROWARD COUNTY, FL – Broward County’s Port Everglades will be the first and last U.S. calls for SeaLand and APL’s North American Express Service (NAE/ACX) to Latin America beginning August 27, according to an announcement to customers posted by SeaLand.
SeaLand, an ocean freight shipping company recently revived by Maersk Line, the world’s largest container shipping company, and APL, a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore-based Neptune Orient Lines, a global transportation and logistics company, selected Florida International Terminal, LLC (FIT) at Port Everglades to provide cargo handling and stevedoring services. The new service is expected to generate more than 20,000 container moves annually.
“The joint SeaLand/APL service is an excellent fit because Port Everglades is already a leader in the North-South trade lanes, particularly the perishables market, and the company is positioned to grow with us as we deepen and widen our channels and add berths for larger cargo ships,” said Port Everglades Chief Executive and Port Director Steven Cernak. Port Everglades is investing more than $600 million in waterside improvements, and in the last year celebrated the opening of a 43-acre intermodal rail container transfer facility and a multitude of road improvements.
SeaLand/APL’s NAE/ACX service will arrive in Port Everglades as a first-in call every Thursday from Manzanillo, Panama, before sailing to other U.S. East Coast ports and returning on Sundays as a last-out U.S. call before sailing to Cartagena, Colombia.
Considered a pioneer in the container shipping industry, SeaLand, which Maersk acquired in 1999, opened its headquarters in Broward County, FL, in the city of Miramar, earlier this year.
At the crossroads of north-south and east-west trade, Broward County’s Port Everglades is Florida’s leading container port, handling more than one million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units, the industry standard measurement for container volumes) and serving as a gateway to Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia. Located within the cities of Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, and Dania Beach, Florida, Port Everglades is in the heart of one of the world’s largest consumer regions, including a constant flow of visitors and up to a combined 110 million residents and seasonal visitors within a 500-mile radius. Port Everglades has direct access to the interstate highway system and the 43-acre Florida East Coast Railway (FECR) intermodal hub, and is closer to the Atlantic Shipping Lanes than any other Southeastern U.S. port. Ongoing capital improvements and expansion will ensure that Port Everglades can continue to handle future growth in container traffic. A world-class cargo handling facility, Port Everglades serves as an ideal point of entry and departure for products shipped around the world.
More information about Broward County’s Port Everglades is available at porteverglades.net or by calling toll-free in the United States 1-800-421-0188 or emailing PortEvergladesCargo@broward.org.
