The Jacksonville Port Authority and Ocean Network Express will offer a service connecting Asia and Jacksonville, Florida, starting February 2025, according to an Oct. 28 press release.
The port rotation will start in China at ports located in Xiamen, Yantian, Ningbo, and Shanghai. Next, the service will makes stops in Busan, South Korea; Panama; Savannah, Georgia; Charleston, South Carolina, and then Jacksonville.
Using a fleet of ONE-operated 13,500 TEU container vessels, the ocean carrier expects the Jaxport destination to strengthen its existing East Coast 2 service, or EC2.
Expected commodities on the EC2 service include retail products, food and beverages, electronics and intermediate goods and supplies. Intermediate goods are used in production but are not necessarily raw materials, such as auto parts, a Jaxport spokesperson said.
The new Jacksonville stop on the EC2 service comes after a series of infrastructure upgrades at the Jaxport SSA Jacksonville Container Terminal. The project included a redesigned terminal gate system, paving nearly 40 acres with heavy-duty asphalt to accommodate taller stacks of loaded containers and six new outbound truck lanes.
“Anchored by harbor deepening, JAXPORT and our port partners have made significant investments in modernizing container handling capabilities at Blount Island,” CEO Eric Green said in the release. “These investments continue to attract global shippers, and the jobs and economic impact their cargo supports, to Jacksonville.”
