Mitsui O.S.K. to Establish Container Terminal in Florida

July 18, 2005
Terminal to open late 2007 or early 2008

TOKYO -- Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd. (9104) plans to set up a container terminal in the U.S. state of Florida to begin operations between the second half of 2007 and early 2008.

The cargo-shipping company's total investment is expected to total around 6 billion yen. The new container terminal will be at the Jacksonville port in northeast Florida. Mitsui O.S.K. will lease about 650,000 sq. meters from the Jacksonville Port Authority in a 30-year agreement.

The terminal will be able to handle cargo from two unloading large container ships. A wholly owned terminal management company will manage cranes and other operations.

Mitsui O.S.K. now operates one terminal apiece in the California cities of Los Angeles and Oakland. But with increasing cargo volumes from Asia to the U.S., its processing capacities at the two locations have reached their limit.

By increasing the number of container ship routes that travel through the Panama Canal to the East Coast terminal, Mitsui O.S.K. hopes address the cargo overflow.