APL Bolsters America Links

zoom Container carrier APL, a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore-based Neptune Orient Lines, is introducing a new weekly service to link Central America and US East Coast, dubbed the America Caribbean Express (ACX). Operated through a vessel sharing agreement with SeaLand, the ACX will be serviced by three vessels of 1,700 TEU nominal capacity each, providing direct service with fixed day arrivals from Colombia and Panama to the US East Coast. The introduction of the ACX expands APL’s suite of services to our customers, said Efraín Osorio, Head of Latin America Trade in APL. We are confident that shippers, in particular those who are moving refrigerated cargo, will benefit from the new service, characterized by fast transits, a modern fleet of reefer equipment, and priority handling of reefer cargo. The ACX service will provide APL’s customers with connections to the carrier’s feeder network via the Manzanillo International Terminal hub in Panama, as well as integrated intermodal connections to inland US East Coast destinations. Port rotation of the new service will be: Manzanillo South Florida – New York Philadelphia Savannah – South Florida – Cartagena. The launch of the new ACX service is subject to regulatory approvals. The first sailing of the service is planned to depart Manzanillo, Panama in late June or early July 2015.