MOL Makes Jaxport Connection
July 21, 2008

In the dead of night on July 8, the MOL Vision, not yet dressed in MOL colors, became the first MOL container vessel to call at Jacksonville when it berthed at the Blount Island terminal and unloaded 100 containers.
The ship was greeted by Jacksonville Port Authority officials along with Duval County Mayor John Peyton and members of the Jacksonville City Council.

The port call, six months ahead of the original schedule, marked the beginning of the first direct scheduled cargo service between Jacksonville and Asia. The MOL Vision traveled from Ningbo, China, through the Panama Canal before reaching Jacksonville, its first U.S. port of call.

“This is truly a momentous occasion,” said Jaxport Executive Director Rick Ferrin, who was at the dock to meet the MOL vessel. “The arrival of this ship marks the true beginning of all-water service from Asia to Jacksonville through the Panama Canal, which will be a major economic stimulus for our region.”

Jaxport is set to be the future base of MOL’s U.S. South Atlantic port activities when its TraPac terminal opens on 158 acres at Dames Point in January. The Greenfield development will offer state-of-the-art post-Panamax container-handling systems with a yearly capacity of 800,000 containers.

The TraPac Container Terminal at Dames Point will double Jaxport’s container-handling capacity. In addition, the terminal is expected to create 6,000 new jobs and generate $1 billion in economic activity for the region.
The vision of the Jacksonville Port Authority is to be a major economic engine for Northeast Florida by continuing to be a premier diversified port in the southeastern United States with connections to major trade lanes throughout the world.