The cargo will be handled by St. John’s Shipping Company Inc., a stevedore at Port Everglades for more than two decades.

“We are pleased to add this new service to our fleet at Port Everglades. Master Line’s service will be mainly exports, a testament to the Port’s commitment in expanding exports which creates more U.S. jobs,” said Chief Executive and Port Director Steven Cernak.

Port Everglades is the No. 1 seaport in Florida for U.S. jobs supported by exports – 79,800 U.S. jobs. Every $1 billion in exports supports approximately 6,000 U.S. jobs, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.  Exports from Port Everglades totaled $13.3 billion in calendar year 2011.

“With over three generations in the shipping industry, we are delighted to start this new service that is guided to support the long time forgotten NVO (Non-Vessel-Operating Common Carrier) and Freight Forwarding community that truly makes a difference in all trades and services they provide on the supply chain. Our number one goal is to serve our clients with the most reliable and dependable service they deserve, I’m happy to say that our commercial slogan will always be “Call your cargo agent!  or Master Line” just like the old timers and pioneers use to say, remember those days?” said Juan Carlos Esquivel, President of Naviera Master Line.

Peter Richards, Gulftainer MD, welcomed the visitors and accompanied them on the site inspection of both terminals where he explained the latest developments in operations and the technology used in container-handling at Gulftainer, “We are delighted to welcome Mr. Sidnei Aires and his group to Sharjah to show him first hand the outstanding facilities at our Ports and give them a taste of what we hope to achieve at the facilities in Recife,” he stated.

Members of the delegation, which was led by Sidnei Aires, Port Commercial and Operations Director of Recife Port, visited Gulftainer’s Sharjah offices and toured the terminal facilities at Sharjah Container Terminal (SCT) and Khorfakkan Container Terminal (KCT) where Mr. Aires expressed his appreciation of the terminal facilities and operations.

The Gulftainer company was awarded the Port Operator Certification at the end of 2011 by the Port of Recife and already has lines queuing up to make use of these new services. The first cargo shipment; which will be a steel consignment, is due to arrive imminently into the port.

The Recife group began their visit at an audience with Sheikh Khalid Bin Abdullah Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairman at the Sharjah Port Authority, and concluded their trip with a meeting at the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), where they met with government officials, including Hussain Al Mahmoudi, Director General of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), who warmly welcomed the visitors and encouraged the newly-formed ties between Recife Port and Gulftainer.

Currently, there are shipping services linking both countries, where Brazil exports fruit, meat, sugar and granite to the UAE, and discussions were held with a view to trading for return cargo from Sharjah, UAE, in the future.

Gulftainer Group has been operating in the UAE and around the world for over 35 years. In the UAE it operates three main UAE ports: two on behalf of the Sharjah Port Authority – Sharjah Container Terminal (SCT) and Khorfakkan Container Terminal (KCT); and one in Ruwais, Abu Dhabi, on behalf of the international plastics solutions company, Borouge.

Clarke joined ICTSI in 2008 as assistant resident manager where he assisted mainly in the contract administration and design management of the Berth 6 project at the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT). 

Before ICTSI in 2008, he was assistant resident manager Maunsell/ AECOM Philippines Inc. and with Maunsell Australia PTY Ltd in 2004 as engineer where he handled various civil port projects in Manila and in other parts of the world.  In 2002, He worked with Western Earthmoving Pty Ltd. as assistant Engineer.  

Clarke is a Bachelor of Engineering graduate, and was a first class honor student at the University of Sydney.  He is a member of the Institution of Engineers Australia.  

On the other hand, Yee was the contracts manager responsible for tender documentation of the site preparation works package for the Independent Deepwater Petroleum Terminal in Pengerang, Johor.  He worked on different container terminal-related projects, and held numerous managerial posts in Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, China, and New Zealand.

A New Zealand national, Yee obtained his bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Auckland.  He also holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from APESMA / Deakin University. 

ICTSI a leading port management company involved in the operations and development of 23 marine terminals and port projects in 17 countries worldwide.  The company was among the first international terminal operators to take its expertise overseas.

The service also connects with a transhipment network from Istanbul covering ten ports in the Black Sea and eastern Mediterranean.  The Marseilles Fos port authority predicted this would be a key factor in increasing its share of French export traffic to the region.   

The first call at Fos was made on April 7 by L’Arcangelo, one of three 1,400 teu vessels assigned to the schedule by Arkas, which is represented in Marseilles by SMI.  Slots on the service have been secured by Seago Line and Turkon, which launched a joint weekly box service between Fos and Turkey in February.      

The ASA rotation is Barcelona, Fos, Piraeus (day 3), Thessalonika (5/14), Istanbul (6/13), Gebze (7/12), Gemlik (8/11), Izmire (9/10), Piraeus (9), Cagliari, Valencia, Castellon and Barcelona.

Ports served by the transhipment link from Istanbul are Alexandria, Beirut, Latakia, Mersin, Famagusta, Novorossiysk, Varna, Odessa, Poti and Constantza.