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Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Shipping Company to Provide Transatlantic Service
Container shipping company to provide transatlantic service at Port of Wilmington
State of North Carolina Office of the Governor Beverly Eaves Perdue Governor RALEIGH – Independent Container Line, Ltd. (ICL) has announced that the shipping company will begin weekly service between the Port of Wilmington, NC and North Europe and the United Kingdom. ICL has served the North Atlantic trade for 24 years, and will begin calling Wilmington on Thursday, March 26, 2009 and each Thursday thereafter.
“This new weekly service to the Port of Wilmington will enhance the economy of the region and of North Carolina. Exporters and importers know the value of using our services in North Carolina,” said Gov. Bev Perdue.
“North Carolina’s businesses and industries have strong ties to Europe and the United Kingdom,” said NC State Ports Authority Board of Directors Chairman Carl J. Stewart, Jr., “and we could not be more pleased to open up this vital link to such an important trade lane. The state’s investment in improving the Port is paying off with new business.”
ICL officials said that by using the Port of Wilmington, they can improve overall service levels by taking advantage of the improved facilities at Wilmington’s container terminal, while also allowing the company to expand their reach into the rapidly growing southeastern U.S. market.
“The Port of Wilmington’s strategic geographic location also allows them to extend their market scope to one of the fastest growing states in the country,” said Ports Authority CEO Thomas J. Eagar. “North Carolina is currently the 10th most populous state, and projected to become the 7th largest by 2030.”
The Wilmington container terminal expansion includes a 42-foot navigation channel, berth reconstruction, four 100-foot gauge container cranes and a terminal operating system that allows customers to track their own containers online in and out of the Port.
Key sectors that will use ICL’s service will be the automotive and construction equipment industry, as well as the high tech textiles, chemical and forest products trades.
“We have worked long and hard with North Carolina’s exporters and importers who wanted to reach transatlantic markets through the Port of Wilmington”, said Glenn Carlson, vice president of business and economic development, “and thanks to their support, ICL decided to make Wilmington their port of call."
The four ICL vessels in the service each have a 1450 TEU capacity and are 550 feet long. With its corporate headquarters in Richmond, Va., ICL also has offices in Antwerp, Belgium, and Liverpool, England. Contact: Chrissy Pearson
Cell: (919) 215-4669
Office: (919) 733-0767 Press Release on Governor's Website
ABOUT THE NORTH CAROLINA STATE PORTS AUTHORITY:
North Carolina's Ports in Wilmington and Morehead City, plus inland terminals in Charlotte and the Piedmont Triad in Greensboro, link the State's consumers, businesses and industry to world markets, and serve as magnets to attract new business and industry while receiving no direct taxpayer subsidy. Port activities contribute statewide to 65,000 jobs and $500 million each year in state and local tax revenues.
Top trading partners are China, India, Brazil, So. Korea, Belgium, Taiwan, Mexico, Colombia, Great Britain and Venezuela.
Primary exports are phosphate, forest products, woodpulp, general merchandise, food products, wood chips and military.
Top imports are sulfur products, chemicals, grains, rubber, scrap metal, cement, metal products, machinery parts, ore, mica and schist.
INFORMATION:
Shannon Moody, Director of Communications (910) 343-6482 Email
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