VIDEO: JAXPORT welcomes its largest containership ever

It's big. it's magenta — and it's the largest containership ever to call JAXPORT

At 364 meters long and with a 14,000 TEU capacity, the ONE Stork yesterday set a port record by becoming the largest containership ever to call the Port of Jacksonville, Fla. (JAXPORT).

Operated by Ocean Network Express (ONE) within THE Alliance network of ocean carriers, the 2015-built, Japanese-flagged ONE Stork is the first of nine larger vessels that will call JAXPORT weekly through the EC5 container service operated by THE Alliance. Effective May 2023, THE Alliance has upsized the vessels used in the service, replacing smaller ships with six larger 14,000-TEU and three larger 13,000-TEU vessels. The upgraded vessel sizes average a 60% increase in container carrying capacity over the previous ships in the service.

Previously, the largest ships to call JAXPORT, which recently completed a 47-foot deepening project, had a capacity of 11,923 TEU.

“We are pleased to grow as ONE and strengthen our valued partnership with JAXPORT as we expand our fleet and broaden our service reach,” said ONE director East Coast and Gulf Port operations Louis Ferrer. “The operational capabilities of Jacksonville’s harbor to accommodate vessels of this size make JAXPORT a great fit for us. We are pleased that our customers will continue to benefit from direct service and efficient transit times between Asia and the Southeast U.S. offered through the EC5.”

As part of the upsizing, the EC5 service now calls the SSA Jacksonville Container Terminal (JCT) at Blount Island to utilize the terminal’s newly-deepened 47-foot harbor, which provides the water draft needed to accommodate the larger vessels. SSA Jacksonville Container Terminal is operated by SSA Marine, one of the largest terminal operators in the Americas and is Jacksonville’s largest international container terminal by volume operating on 100 acres at JAXPORT’s Blount Island Marine Terminal.

“SSA’s efficiencies continue to grow as we are making significant progress on the modernization of the SSA JCT on Blount Island,” said Lauren Offenbecher, president of SSA Conventional. “We will welcome three new 100-gauge container cranes later this summer. We look forward to welcoming more services to this growing gateway as we continue to invest.”

“Today’s arrival of the ONE Stork represents yet another milestone for our port and community,” said JAXPORT CEO Eric Green. “Harbor deepening and the other investments that have been made in our port provide the capability for these larger vessels to call Jacksonville, supporting jobs and economic impact throughout our region and state. We are grateful for the partnership we have with our THE Alliance partners and look forward to their continued growth and success in Jacksonville.”