APM Terminals (APMT) Lazaro Cardenas in Mexico has welcomed the first call of Hapag-Lloyd’s East Coast 2 (EC2) service, the UMM SALAL.
The EC2 service comprises 12 vessels with a notional capacity of 13,470 TEU, a length of 366 metres, and 141,077 gross registered tonnes. Hapag-Lloyd operates all of the vessels.
The Port of Lazaro Cardenas is the only location on the Mexican Pacific that will accept vessels from this service, and it is the first call after leaving Asia.
The East Coast 2 loop operates on a weekly basis calling:
Qingdao – Yantian – Ningbo – Yangshan – Busan – Lazaro Cardena – Cartagena – Savannah – Charleston – Wilmington – Norfolk – Cartagena – Busan – Qingdao.
John Alexander Sanchez Gonzales, Commercial Manager for APM Terminals (APMT) Mexico, said: “For added flexibility, APM Terminals Lazaro Cardenas offers convenient rail connections to and from the US south and south-west.
“This includes direct block (unit) train routes from Lazaro Cardenas to Houston, Memphis and Dallas together with a streamlined process for cross-border rail to the USA.
“Rail loading is extremely fast and efficient at the terminal, due to strategically located on-dock rail facilities, including two dedicated gantry cranes. Full trains can be loaded within the intermodal yard and 99.98 per cent of moves are without a security claim.”
“APMT Lazaro Cardenas also offers a direct gateway to an inland depot in Mexico City, with more than 250 distribution centres serving more than 20 million consumers within a 20 kilometres radius,” Sanchez Gonzales explained.
“The terminal also boasts direct intermodal connectivity and the shortest distance to Monterrey, Mexico’s main growth market.”
Recently, APMT invested in 240 new pieces of equipment for five of its terminals in Latin America, Africa, and Europe.
