Antillean Marine Shipping Corp., a long-time Miami River ocean carrier company, is expanding its business to Broward County's Port Everglades.

The family-owned and operated company has been one of the Miami River's 'anchor' marine cargo companies since 1963. The move to Port Everglades will enable Antillean to handle higher cargo volumes and transshipment opportunities with other carriers.

'This was a difficult decision for our company and for me personally,' says Antillean's President Sara C. Babun. 'We remain committed to continue working the river, as well as improving its environmental conditions where our company has its roots. Nevertheless, the time has come when we need the space for growth and Port Everglades provides an attractive opportunity as a result of its progressive Master/Vision Plan, landside connections with rail and easy highway access.'

Antillean Marine will be operating from Port Everglades Terminals (PET) with regular liner service to ports in Haiti and the Dominican Republic and Panama. Port Everglades' officials estimate Antillean Marine will bring to the South Florida seaport over 60,000 containers annually.

'Antillean's service from Port Everglades goes a long way to helping us reach our goal of one-million teus (containers),' says Port Everglades Director Phillip C. Allen.

The first Antillean ship to call Port Everglades is the Michael J. Voyage 1, a 600-teu ship, which will make multiple calls from Port Everglades and facilitate services to the ports in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Panama.

Port Everglades, located in South Florida, is ranked as one of the fastest growing container seaports in the United States according to the PIERS import/export database. A world-class cargo handling facility, Port Everglades serves as an ideal point of entry for products shipped to and from Central America, the Caribbean, South America, Europe and the Far East. Port Everglades has direct access to the interstate highway system (I-95, I-75 and the Florida Turnpike), is within two miles of the FEC rail hub and just one mile from the Atlantic shipping Lanes. Ongoing capital improvements and expansion ensure that Port Everglades will have the ability to handle the Port's growing container traffic.