Hapag-Lloyd’s Atlantic Loop 3 (AL3) service made its inaugural visit to the Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) on 21 November 2021.
The service which connects Europe to North America will be calling at JAXPORT for the next eight weeks to make use of the port’s efficiencies and avoid port congestion which is building up along the US West Coast.
Port representatives presented a maiden voyage plaque to the crew of the container ship Hudson Express during this visit to JAXPORT.
The port has no vessels waiting at anchorage and two-way ship traffic to and from berths, Hudson Express was able to berth and begin working immediately upon its arrival.
The temporary addition of the AL3 service, which was announced in October 2021, brings an estimated 8,000 additional TEU through the port over the next two months.
The current rotation of the service is as follows: Antwerp (Belgium) – Hamburg (Germany) – London (UK) – Charleston (US) – Jacksonville (US) – Norfolk (US)
JAXPORT has also recently set a new container volume record while maintaining congestion-free operations during the Fiscal Year 2021. During the period which ended 30 September 2021, the port handled over 1.4 million TEU, a 10% increase when compared to the same period in 2020 and up 5% compared to the same period in 2019, the previous record for container volumes.
The port has managed to stay congestion-free throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and has offered available berth and terminal capacity to easily accommodate vessels displaced by congestion at other US ports.
