Doug J. Marchand, Executive Director of the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA), recently announced the Port of Savannah's newest all-water joint service between Hapag-Lloyd Container Line (Brazil East Coast Express Service ' BEX) and NYK Line (Atlantic North South Service ' ANS). The new service will enhance the growing trade between the US East Coast and South America.
"Trade with the East Coast and South America is growing at its best pace since 2001," said Marchand. "The Port of Savannah is not only facilitating this growth with convenient and productive services, but is also making sure our facilities are properly equipped to meet the demand by aggressively improving our infrastructure."
In 2004, imports from the East Coast of South America grew by 20% and exports grew by 33%.
"The Port of Savannah provides not only exceptional services to carriers like Hapag-Lloyd and NYK to handle this growth, but we are also strategically located for domestic companies for the production and distribution of major commodities like furniture, lumber, woodpulp, tiles and footwear," continued Marchand.
With a reported capacity of 1,100 teus the first vessel in the service, the Sumida, recently called on the Port of Savannah's Garden City Terminal.
"Hapag-Lloyd's decision to launch the BEX service demonstrates our optimism for continued growth in trade with Brazil and confirms our company's commitment to expand its coverage in the North-South trades of the Americas," said Rudy Mack, President of Hapag-Lloyd (America) Inc.
The BEX and ANS service string will consist of three vessels with every other week, fixed day sailings with emphasis on schedule integrity and service reliability. By late summer, sailing frequency will increase to weekly. The port rotation will include the following: New York, Norfolk, Savannah, Miami, Kingston, Sao Francisco do Sul, Santos, Sepetiba, Puerto Sucre (Venezuela) and New York.
NYK has been serving South America for over 30 years from Asia. NYK's sister company, NYK Logistics, can also provide a full range of logistics and supply chain services. The new service will emphasize port coverage and sufficient port buffer times for all contingencies. It will also focus on major Brazilian ports.
