JAXPORT receives neopanamax car carrier

Meanwhile, longshoremen at the Floridian port on Tuesday will begin offloading cargo from the MOL Majesty, a 6,724-TEU vessel that transited the Panama Canal’s new locks last week.    The first neopanamax car carrier to pass through the Panama Canal, the NYK Iris Leader, called the Blount Island Marine Terminal at the Port of Jacksonville Monday. 
   The NYK Iris Leader is 15 feet wider than previous NYK roll-on/roll-off ships with a capacity for 7,000 automobiles. Delivered last December, the ship is 199 feet long and 34 feet wide and includes 20 individual cabins for training cadets.
   JAXPORT is one of the nation’s busiest ports for vehicles handling. Last year, the port moved nearly 657,000 vehicles, the largest amount since it set an auto volume record in 2007.
   The NYK Iris Leader transited the canal on July 6. A second larger-than-panamax roll-on/roll-off ship, the Glovis Sunrise, passed through the canal July 9.
   Meanwhile, on Tuesday, longshoremen at JAXPORT will begin offloading cargo from the MOL Majesty, a 6,724-TEU vessel that transited the Panama Canal’s new locks last week, JAXPORT spokeswoman Nancy Rubin said.
   The MOL Majesty made its first U.S. call at PortMiami on Saturday.
   Last month’s opening of a wider Panama Canal is allowing much larger vessels to transit the waterway and is expected to change trade flows.