The Grimaldi West Africa Service Direct, which also is the only direct container service from the Gulf of Mexico to West Africa, will have a fleet of six identical ships and will call Barbours Cut every 11 days, according to the company. The service deploys multipurpose ro-ro container vessels capable of carrying containers as well as autos and other rolling stock.
“Grimaldi is pleased to announce the added port call to Houston on its successful East Coast West African service,” the company said in a statement. “The Gulf region is an important market in the growing trade from the United States to West Africa. We are excited to be able to offer manufacturers, traders and the oil and gas sector the facility of a regular direct container service from Houston to a wide range of ports on the West African coast.”
Service to a range of 15 ports in West Africa will be offered, the company said.
The Port Authority is pleased that Grimaldi is expanding into Houston, said Chief Commercial Officer Ricky Kunz.
“Having an established carrier like Grimaldi expanding operations into Houston is an extremely positive development,” Kunz said. “Businesses will appreciate having direct service across our docks to and from West Africa.”
Established in 1947, Grimaldi is a fully integrated multinational logistics group specializing in the maritime transport of cars, rolling cargo, containers and passengers. The Grimaldi Group has expanded in recent years and its fleet now is comprised of more than 100 vessels. The company’s international management team is based at the group’s headquarters in Naples, Italy, as well as subsidiary companies and branches in more than 25 countries.
The Port of Houston Authority is the largest container port in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, handling about two-thirds of all the containers that move through the gulf. In 2015, the Port Authority handled more than two million twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) for the first time in its history. The Port Authority also set a record for tonnage in 2015, handling 30.5 million tons of cargo at its facilities.