Kingston port secures five-year hub deal with Zim

Kingston port secures five-year hub deal with Zim    The port of Kingston, Jamaica, has signed a five-year agreement with Zim Israel Navigation allowing Kingston to continue as the transshipment hub for Zim's operations in the Caribbean.
   The agreement was signed by Robert Pickersgill, Jamaica’s Minister of Transport and Works, and Yoram Sebba, president of Zim.
   “We are focused on maintaining shipping as a leading contributor in our national economic profile, and this partnership with Zim translates into meaningful growth possibilities,” said Pickersgill.
   The Port Authority of Jamaica has started a $60-million expansion of the Kingston Container Terminal that will increase the port's capacity by 25 percent to 1.5 million TEUs a year.
   Two of Zim’s main east/west services, the “ZCS” and “AUX” loops, call at Kingston.
   Zim is upgrading its Mediterranean/U.S. East Coast/Jamaica/U.S. West Coast/Asia “ZCS” service by introducing new 5,000-TEU ships.
   The carrier said that 13 new ships of 5,000-TEU capacities would replace, under a faster rotation, the previous fleet of 15 ships.