MSC’s Golden Gate Service to call Savannah
The Mediterranean Shipping Company has added Savannah to its weekly Golden Gate Service between the East Coast and Asia. The 12-vessel service includes the largest ships ever to call on Georgia’s deepwater ports, The Maritime Executive reports. “The 9,000-TEU class vessels included in this Suez Canal route represent the future of U.S.-Asia shipping,” said Georgia Ports Authority Executive Director Curtis J. Foltz. “The economy of scale in this size ship will make it the dominant choice in global trade, especially after an expanded Panama Canal opens in 2014, allowing Pacific routes for post-Panamax vessels.”
MSC Executive Vice President Allen Clifford said Savannah’s position as a logistics hub played a large role in the company’s decision to add the Suez service. “Savannah is a valuable stop, among many other things, because there are so many proprietary BCOs (beneficial cargo owners) located there in terms of distribution centers,” Clifford said. “It’s very significant in U.S. trans-Pacific trade moving Asian cargo. It makes (Savannah) a natural service.”
The Golden Gate Service will deploy vessels ranging in capacity from 6,700 to 9,200 twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) on the following rotation: Shanghai, Chiwan, Yantian, Singapore, Salalah, New York-New Jersey, Norfolk, Baltimore, Savannah, Freeport, Charleston, Norfolk, Jeddah, Colombo, Singapore, Chiwan, Hong Kong and Ningbo.
The first ship on the Golden Gate rotation will be the 8,089-TEU MSC Toronto, slated to arrive on Feb. 13. The first 9,200-TEU vessel, the MSC Roma, will call on Savannah Feb. 20.
“The new service will mean a substantial bump in cargo shipped through Georgia,” said GPA Chief Commercial Officer Cliff Pyron. “MSC added Savannah to its Golden Gate rotation at the request of companies importing and exporting goods to Asia. While much of the cargo will be processed by distribution centers near the Port of Savannah, other containers will go directly from Savannah to destinations in the interior U.S. via truck and rail.”
The Port of Savannah now has eight Suez services and 13 Panama Canal services calling on its terminals.
MSC Executive Vice President Allen Clifford said Savannah’s position as a logistics hub played a large role in the company’s decision to add the Suez service. “Savannah is a valuable stop, among many other things, because there are so many proprietary BCOs (beneficial cargo owners) located there in terms of distribution centers,” Clifford said. “It’s very significant in U.S. trans-Pacific trade moving Asian cargo. It makes (Savannah) a natural service.”
The Golden Gate Service will deploy vessels ranging in capacity from 6,700 to 9,200 twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) on the following rotation: Shanghai, Chiwan, Yantian, Singapore, Salalah, New York-New Jersey, Norfolk, Baltimore, Savannah, Freeport, Charleston, Norfolk, Jeddah, Colombo, Singapore, Chiwan, Hong Kong and Ningbo.
The first ship on the Golden Gate rotation will be the 8,089-TEU MSC Toronto, slated to arrive on Feb. 13. The first 9,200-TEU vessel, the MSC Roma, will call on Savannah Feb. 20.
“The new service will mean a substantial bump in cargo shipped through Georgia,” said GPA Chief Commercial Officer Cliff Pyron. “MSC added Savannah to its Golden Gate rotation at the request of companies importing and exporting goods to Asia. While much of the cargo will be processed by distribution centers near the Port of Savannah, other containers will go directly from Savannah to destinations in the interior U.S. via truck and rail.”
The Port of Savannah now has eight Suez services and 13 Panama Canal services calling on its terminals.