MSC Trans-Atlantic service to call Philadelphia
Mediterranean Shipping Co. will begin calling the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in South Philadelphia with one of its weekly trans-Atlantic services, the board of the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority announced this week.
"Our objective is to open a big bridge between Philadelphia and the world," said MSC’s North American president, Claudio Bozzo, in an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer.
“Every time we enter a port, we never leave," Bozzo said. "We have decided to count on the fact that Philadelphia will grow, and we will be the ones that will make it happen."
Philadelphia is planning to build a big new container terminal called Southport on 150 acres at the former Navy Yard on the Delaware River in South Philadelphia, but the bidding process has been postponed indefinitely because of concerns by several of the four prospective bidders over raising money to finance the $500 million terminal.
MSC already brings cargo from the west coast of South America into Packer Avenue.
The Europe service will replace what was lost when Hamburg Sud pulled European shipments out of Philadelphia in June, costing the port about 20 percent of its container business.
Robert C. Blackburn, the Port Authority's senior deputy executive director, said the MSC service will result in 52 additional ship calls a year.
"We're hoping they can get to a level of bringing 1,000 containers per call," Blackburn said.
In his interview with the Inquirer, Bozzo said: "We are not talking Europe only. It's an incredibly big deal. [Mediterranean Shipping] is the only line that did not lose market share compared to last year. Everybody is down.
"It's a great achievement of the port and the authority" in Philadelphia, he said. "And it's a new challenge we look forward to."
Mediterranean Shipping "decided to do business with the Holt family," operator of the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal, "because they are experts on anything that has to do with fruit and refrigerated cargo," Bozzo said.
"Our objective is to open a big bridge between Philadelphia and the world," said MSC’s North American president, Claudio Bozzo, in an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer.
“Every time we enter a port, we never leave," Bozzo said. "We have decided to count on the fact that Philadelphia will grow, and we will be the ones that will make it happen."
Philadelphia is planning to build a big new container terminal called Southport on 150 acres at the former Navy Yard on the Delaware River in South Philadelphia, but the bidding process has been postponed indefinitely because of concerns by several of the four prospective bidders over raising money to finance the $500 million terminal.
MSC already brings cargo from the west coast of South America into Packer Avenue.
The Europe service will replace what was lost when Hamburg Sud pulled European shipments out of Philadelphia in June, costing the port about 20 percent of its container business.
Robert C. Blackburn, the Port Authority's senior deputy executive director, said the MSC service will result in 52 additional ship calls a year.
"We're hoping they can get to a level of bringing 1,000 containers per call," Blackburn said.
In his interview with the Inquirer, Bozzo said: "We are not talking Europe only. It's an incredibly big deal. [Mediterranean Shipping] is the only line that did not lose market share compared to last year. Everybody is down.
"It's a great achievement of the port and the authority" in Philadelphia, he said. "And it's a new challenge we look forward to."
Mediterranean Shipping "decided to do business with the Holt family," operator of the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal, "because they are experts on anything that has to do with fruit and refrigerated cargo," Bozzo said.