SeaLand opens for business in South Florida

Maersk Line’s newest regional ocean liner division hosted Governor Rick Scott and members of the press at its new office in Miramar.    Ocean carrier Maersk Line’s intra-regional liner operation SeaLand Friday opened its headquarters in Miramar, Fla, just outside of Miami.
   Fla. Governor Rick Scott was in attendance, along with SeaLand’s Chief Executive Officer Craig Mygatt and the entire SeaLand team as well as members of the local media.
   “Bienvenidos,” Mygatt began, welcoming guests to the event and referencing SeaLand’s decidedly Latin viewpoint. “Vamos Juntos,” Spanish for “we go together” and the slogan of the new liner company, is inscribed on the wall of the office’s reception area, the first thing one sees upon entering.
   “The sunshine state has a strong, growing economy,” Mygatt said, “and is an important trade hub for the Americas, which offers wonderful opportunities and resources. It is the ideal location for our base of operations. We came here under the mantra that South Florida is the capital of Latin America.”
   The SeaLand brand, created by Malcom P. McLean out of Pan-Atlantic Steamship Company in 1960 and acquired by Maersk from railroad company CSX in 1999, will serve the intra-Americas trade exclusively.
   “The shipping industry connects the people of the Americas and enables global commerce,” Mygatt continued. “The small avocado grower in Peru has the ability to trade in the global market. SeaLand connects these farmers to Latin and North American markets. When you go to the store and pick up fruit or drink a cup of Columbian coffee, think SeaLand.”
   The 13,000-square-foot SeaLand offices house all 65 of the company’s current North America employees, including the executive management, operations, marketing and customer service departments.
   Full details of SeaLand’s service network were not yet available, but members of the its liner operations department told American Shipper the carrier will operate 24 of Maersk’s existing loops under the SeaLand name. The carrier does not plan to introduce any new services nor make any large-scale changes to existing loops in the first six months of operation.