SeaLand to add Port Everglades to South American Express loop

The intra-Americas subsidiary of ocean shipping giant Maersk Line will add the South Florida port to the weekly rotation of the South American Express service at the end of the month, according to Port Everglades terminal operator SAAM.    Ocean carrier SeaLand, the intra-Americas subsidiary of industry leader Maersk Line, will begin calling the SAAM-operated Florida International Terminal (FIT) in Port Everglades-Fort Lauderdale on its South Atlantic Express service, the terminal operator announced.    
   The service operates weekly and with direct calls in call South Florida, Honduras and Guatemala. According to ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting, the loop’s full port rotation is Norfolk, Philadelphia, Wilmington, Savannah, Port Everglades, Santo Tomas de Castilla, Puerto Cortes, Moin Bay, Manzanillo (Panama), Colon (Panama), Puerto Cortes, Santo Tomas de Castilla, Port Everglades, Wilmington and back to Norfolk. Port Everglades will be added as a port of call beginning with the Oct. 28 voyage of the Maersk Winnipeg.
   “This new service will enable importers and exporters to reduce transit days and provide mid-week cargo alternatives, thereby efficiently supporting foreign trade between North and Central America,” explained Klaus Stadthagen, the CEO of FIT.   
   The service will also offer inland transfers from and to Nicaragua and El Salvador, said SAAM.
   FIT is one of eleven terminals operated by Chilean-based SAAM in the Americas. SAAM holds the operating concession until 2025 (with a 5+5 extension option) and in 2016 reported container port throughput of more than 202,000 TEUs, according to the terminal operator. The company also offers towage services and logistics operations.