New business for JAXPORT will add 25 jobs to Northeast Florida

Nordana Line (USA) Inc. will move two of its regular cargo services from Savannah, GA to Jacksonville, a move that will add at least 25 port jobs to Northeast Florida, create more than half-a-million dollars in new annual revenue for the Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT), and generate at least 60,000 tons of cargo every year for JAXPORT's Blount Island Marine Terminal.

Nordana's service from Jacksonville commenced with the arrival of the Skodsborg on Jan. 31, 2006. Nordana's ships will call Jacksonville three or four times per month, giving Jacksonville access to two services: a Mediterranean service connecting Jacksonville with ports in Spain, Italy, Algeria, Tunisia, Tripoli, Libya, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, and Greece; and a West Africa service connecting Mexico, Houston and Jacksonville with West African ports in Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Republic of Congo, and Gabon.

Nordana's decision gives Jacksonville new direct Mediterranean export service for containers, breakbulk and roll-on, roll-off (Ro/Ro) cargo, as well as a Central American import connection from Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico. The West Africa service will feature an import service from Brazil into Jacksonville and will be the first container and breakbulk service between Jacksonville and Africa.

Each service will carry a variety of cargoes, including roll-on, roll-off (RO/RO), breakbulk, heavy lift, and containerized cargoes. JAXPORT tenant Coastal Maritime Stevedoring, LLC will provide marine terminal and stevedoring services for Nordana.

In making the switch from Savannah to Jacksonville, Nordana Line (USA) President Steen Obst said his company wanted to take advantage of Jacksonville's outstanding rail and road connections. 'We felt we would have better service and better hinterland support out of Jacksonville,' Obst said.

'We are very excited about our new relationship with Nordana,' said Coastal Maritime CEO Capt. Magnus Lindeback. 'Nordana will provide the port with new trade lanes and a very unique, innovative and flexible service. The Nordana service is very much in line with the port's goals of cargo and trade lane diversification,' Lindeback said.

JAXPORT officials say the new business helps the Port Authority achieve its vision of becoming a major economic engine for Northeast Florida, noting that JAXPORT is well-positioned to attract additional shipping lines in the future.

'We are extremely pleased that Nordana Line has chosen Jacksonville to take advantage of our excellent facilities, experienced labor force and unmatched railroad and highway connections,' said Roy Schleicher, JAXPORT's Senior Director of Trade Development and Marketing. 'These services will give Jacksonville new global reach to the Mediterranean as well as additional service to Africa.'

'Our goal is to continue to demonstrate to customers like Nordana that Jacksonville offers efficiencies and competitive advantages that can strongly support their business,' said Ben Massa, JAXPORT's Director of Northeast Marketing and Sales.