MEDITERRANEAN SHIPPING TO SET UP PANAMA HUB

MEDITERRANEAN SHIPPING TO SET UP MEXICAN HUB    Mediterranean Shipping Co. has signed a contract with TMM Ports and Terminals to use the Panamanian container terminal of Manzanillo as a transshipment hub.
   Grupo TMM, the majority owner of TMM Ports and Terminals, said Mediterranean Shipping’s services will use the port of Manzanillo “as an eastern Pacific hub” for vessels originating in Asia that will stop at Manzanillo and move through the canal to the United States, for ships sailing westbound from the U.S. East Coast to Asia, and for ships in Latin American trades.
   Based on the new contract, the Manzanillo terminal expects to increase its port volume from its current 300,000 TEUs a year to 500,000 TEUs a year over the next 18 months.
   The Manzanillo terminal is a joint venture between Grupo TMM and Stevedoring Services of America.