Thinking big in Jaxport
The increasing dominance of large containerships has not passed the maritime ports of the US state of Florida by either. Jaxport is set to team up with an old local partner, SSA Marine, to expand its international container terminal, which is used by the major alliances.
The Jacksonville Port Authority (Jaxport) and the terminal operator SSA Marine (Stevedoring Services of America Marine) have signed a 25-year contract, with options for extensions, for the construction and operation of a container terminal on Florida’s coast. The total planned investment amounts to approximately USD 238.7 million.
The new container-handling facility, which is designed for international opera- tions, will be on the Blount Island marine terminal in Jaxport. The new baby will be called the SSA Jacksonville International Gateway Terminal.
Deepwater basin and large compound
Jaxport is not new territory for SSA Marine. The contractually allocated 80 ha of land, which can be extended to 120 ha, if needed, will be added to land SSA Marine already leases on Blount Island. The new berth, whose turning basin has a water depth of about 14.3 m, is designed for larger containerships, sailing to the region mainly from Asia. The existing terminal handles three global services, operated by the Ocean Alliance (CMA CGM, APL, Cosco, OOCL, Evergreen), 2M + H (Hyundai, Hamburg Süd, Maersk, MSC) and MSC’s BEX service, which calls in the Bahamas.
One factor determining the success of the terminal is Jaxport’s dredging project, which, based on funding from all partners, is expected to be completed by 2023. SSA Marine will contribute USD 28 million for the use of four cranes, with those funds going towards the cost of the deepening. SSA Marine will contribute USD 129.7 million for the use of the terminal and for upgrades. Jaxport will complete USD 109 million in berth rehabilitation and upgrades, which are underway. These will allow the terminal to handle two post-panamax vessels at the same time.
