- COSCO’s container ship is one of the largest ships to ever dock in port Tampa Bay.
- The cargo ship is capable of transporting 4,500 different containers at one time.
- This direct Asian service will provide competitive transit to serve the I-4 corridor.
- The direct transportation cuts travel time in half and saves money as businesses and creates job for locals.
- Cosco plans to double the size of their vessels in the near future.
COSCO, one of the world’s largest shipping container companies docked its cargo ship, the M/V PIRAEUS, in Port Tampa Bay says, Fox13news. It is now one of the largest ships to ever dock in the port.
Faster business across world
The cargo ship is the result of a deal between the port and Cosco Shipping Lines. It allows a new and faster way for companies to import and export goods across the world.
Paul Anderson, the president and CEO of Port Tampa Bay said that this direct Asian service will provide competitive transit to serve the I-4 corridor and the 8.5 million people living there.
Journey of the containers
Loaded with everything from furniture to food, the ship begins its journey in Shanghai, China. After a 31-day cruise across the Pacific and through the Panama Canal, it arrives in Tampa.
The containers are then loaded onto trucks and sent to nearby distribution centers. Anderson said they have 150 distribution centers that get direct service calls from Asia.
Economical and time saving
The new form of direct transportation from Port Tampa Bay cuts travel time in half and saves money as businesses will no longer have to truck goods in from other ports. New direct and indirect jobs like the truck drivers, the crane operators etc are created.
The cargo ship is capable of transporting 4,500 different containers at one time. In Tampa, about 500 containers will be loaded and unloaded each week, making way for numerous economic benefits.
COSCO’s Future plans
This gives businesses a direct line to Tampa’s growing economic hub. “Asia, especially China, is the manufacturing hub of the world. So, it’s going to grow, and Tampa’s going to be a big part of it,” said Howard Finkel, the executive vice president of Cosco shipping.
Cosco’s cargo ship is already charting a new path for Tampa promising continued growth and opportunities for the city. While the ship is at present one of the biggest to visit Tampa’s port, Cosco plans to double the size of their vessels in the near future.
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Source: fox13news
