Savannah to welcome MSC Golden Gate service

   Mediterranean Shipping Co.’s weekly Golden Gate Service is scheduled to arrive for the first time at the Port of Savannah on Feb. 16 based on the company’s latest plans, Executive Vice President Allen Clifford said. 
   News that the Swiss container line was adding Savannah to its loop via the Suez Canal was initially reported in November by American Shipper affiliate ComPair Data. The 12-vessel string will include the largest ships ever to call on Georgia’s deepwater ports, according to the Georgia Ports Authority.
   The first vessel on the new Golden Gate rotation will be the 8,089 TEU MSC Toronto. The first vessel in excess of 9,000 TEUs to reach the port is scheduled to be the MSC Roma a week later.
   Clifford, in a news release issued by the GPA, said Savannah’s large concentration of import distribution centers utilized by retailers and other shippers played a large role in the company’s decision to add the Suez service. 
   The Golden Gate Service deploys vessels ranging in capacity from 6,700 to 9,200 TEUs on the following rotation:  Shanghai, Chiwan, Yantian, Singapore, Salalah, New York-New Jersey, Norfolk, Baltimore, Savannah, Freeport, Charleston, Norfolk, Jeddah, Colombo, Singapore, Chiwan, Hong Kong and Ningbo.
   MSC recently added a second call in Norfolk to catch exports for the return trip.
   “The new service will mean a substantial bump in cargo shipped through Georgia,” GPA Chief Commercial Officer Cliff Pyron, said in the news release. “MSC added Savannah to its Golden Gate rotation at the request of companies importing and exporting goods to Asia. While much of the cargo will be processed by distribution centers near the Port of Savannah, other containers will go directly from Savannah to destinations in the interior U.S. via truck and rail.”
   The Port of Savannah now has eight Suez services and 13 Panama Canal services calling on its terminals. — Eric Kulisch