Cape Sounio, a 330-meter-long 11,000-TEU vessel, became the largest container ship to ever arrive at the Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) as it berthed in Florida on March 18.
The vessel transited the Panama Canal from Asia before reaching the US East Coast and loading and offloading cargo at JAXPORT’s Blount Island Marine Terminal.
Cape Sounio is operated by ZIM on a service offered by the 2M alliance, comprised of Maersk, MSC, Hamburg Süd and strategic partners HMM and ZIM.
The ship’s arrival comes two weeks after JAXPORT and terminal operator SSA Atlantic got a long-term agreement on a USD 238.7 million international container terminal at Blount Island. The terminal is to have capacity for approximately 80 acres with the potential to grow up to 120 acres.
The Jacksonville Harbor Deepening project will offer 47 feet of deepwater access, allowing vessels like Cape Sounio to call JAXPORT more fully loaded. The project is scheduled to be complete in 2023, based on continued funding from all partners, and includes the addition of a vessel turning basin.
JAXPORT is also investing USD 109 million in berth rehabilitation and upgrades which are already underway and will allow the terminal to simultaneously accommodate two post-Panamax vessels.
