SeaLead Shipping enhances service at JAXPORT, now offering weekly Mediterranean East Coast service

SeaLead Shipping has revised its container service calling the Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) and is now offering weekly sailings through its Mediterranean East Coast (MEC) service.

As part of the updated service, the first container ship arrived at the SSA Jacksonville Container Terminal (JCT) at JAXPORT’s Blount Island Marine Terminal on Saturday. JAXPORT Director of Ocean Carrier Development Joyssy Woody presented the captain of the container ship Avni with a maiden voyage plaque to commemorate the vessel’s new rotation.

SeaLead began calling JAXPORT bi-weekly in July 2022 through its previous Asia East Coast service. With the revision, the MEC will come to the U.S. East Coast from Damietta, Egypt, calling Jacksonville, among other U.S. ports. Transshipment through Damietta connects shippers with ports throughout Asia, the Middle East, and the Indian Subcontinent. Transshipment opportunities include Busan, Korean; Nansha, Ningbo, Shanghai, and Qingdao in China; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Port Kelang, Malaysia; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; and Istanbul, Turkey.

“The MEC service accommodates the growing demand for international ocean carrier space to efficiently move cargo, including retail goods, furniture, and forest products through the U.S. Southeast market on weekly basis,” said Woody. “We are grateful for SeaLead’s commitment to growing their business in Jacksonville to benefit our customers and community.”

The SSA JCT at Blount Island features a 47-foot deepwater shipping channel with 2,400 feet of newly reconstructed berthing space. Three new eco-friendly cranes will arrive in spring 2023, and $70 million in phased yard improvements are underway to enable the facility to accommodate more containers.