MV Olivia Maersk Docks in Kingston

Prime Minister P.J. Patterson on Friday (Mar. 17) welcomed the MV Olivia Maersk, the first vessel of the Maersk Shipping Line to dock at the Kingston Container Terminal under a five-year US$210 Million contract signed in November between the government and Maersk, which is the world’s largest shipping line.
Mr. Patterson said the fact that the Maersk vessel was able to make its maiden call in mid-March ahead of the original April schedule, pointed to the extent to which the Port Authority of Jamaica had met the requirements for the provision of transshipment services under the agreement.
He said the development of the maritime industry was a significant pillar of the National Industrial Policy and that the tremendous expansion of the sector had made the Kingston Container Terminal the leading transshipment port in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Prime Minister Patterson was taken a tour of the US$213 Million fifth phase expansion currently underway at the terminal. Upon completion in 2007, the total TEUS (twenty equivalent units) will be increased by more than 100 per cent, from 1.5 Million to 3.2 Million TEUs.
The Kingston Container Terminal is ranked 63rd among the top one hundred ports in the world and is rated 4th among the terminals managed worldwide by the APM group of Denmark. APM is the leading global commercial container terminal operator with interests in over 35 ports worldwide.