MSC adds Philadelphia to Europe service

MSC adds Philadelphia to Europe service    Mediterranean Shipping Co. will begin calling the Port of Philadelphia as part of its North Europe service next month.
   MSC will make weekly calls to the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal, said the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority.
   The new rotation will be Bremerhaven, Felixstowe, Antwerp, Le Havre, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Norfolk, New York and Bremerhaven. According to ComPair Data, MSC operates five ships with average capacity of 3,055 TEUs on the route. The first ship in the new rotation will leave Bremerhaven on Oct. 5.
   MSC also operates a service between Philadelphia and the West Coast of South America.
   'This new service is great news for our port and the entire region. We are very excited about MSC's decision to expand its presence in Philadelphia,' said Thomas J. Holt Jr., president of Holt Logistics, which operates the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal under a long-term lease with the port authority. 'Shippers have expressed a lot of interest in having direct European service with the Port of Philadelphia. MSC is a leader in the field and continues to grow, even in the down economy.'
   The port said MSC’s service arrival is particularly vital during the global recession. At the Philadelphia terminal, total cargo was down 15 percent to 1.7 million tons compared to 2008.