JAXPORT now first U.S. Southeast port of call following Premier Alliance service change

Written by Marine Log Staff

ONE Mackinac, the first vessel in the revised Premier Alliance rotation, called Jacksonville on Monday, July 7. [Photo: JAXPORT]

The Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) is now the first Southeast U.S. port of call in the Premier Alliance’s East Coast 3 (EC3) container service, which directly connects Jacksonville with ports in Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, and Sri Lanka.

ONE Mackinac, the first vessel in the revised Premier Alliance rotation, called Jacksonville on Monday, July 7.

The Premier Alliance Agreement, approved by the Federal Maritime Commision in February, allows HMM Co., Ltd., Ocean Network Express Pte. Ltd., and Yang Ming Joint Service Agreement to share vessels in the trades between the United States and Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.

Operated weekly by Ocean Network Express, HMM and Yang Ming, the revised service reduces transit times from Asia to Jacksonville by as much as five days.

The revised Premier Alliance port rotation is Laem Chabang, Thailand; Cai Mep, Vietnam; Singapore; Colombo, Sri Lanka; Halifax, Canada; New York; Jacksonville; Savannah; Charleston; Norfolk; New York; Halifax; Singapore; and back to Laem Chabang.

Vessels on the service call the newly modernized SSA Jacksonville Container Terminal at Blount Island, which offers a 47-foot-deep shipping channel and no berth congestion—enhancing schedule reliability.

“Jacksonville’s position as the first Southeast port of call means shippers benefit from faster transit times and the efficiency of our modernized terminals,” said JAXPORT chief commercial officer Robert Peek. “This service provides speed and reliability for our customers and strengthens Jacksonville’s role as a gateway to the growing Southeast U.S. market.”

A $72 million project to expand and modernize the SSA Jacksonville Container Terminal at Blount Island is nearing completion. The facility features 97 acres of new paving to support higher container stacks and an upgraded terminal gate system.