Members of the International Longshoremen’s Association have unanimously approved an agreement with Hanjin Shipping Company of Seoul, Korea paving the way for construction of a 90-acre container facility at the Dames Point Marine Terminal in North Jacksonville. The $300 million terminal is expected to open for business by 2014 creating thousands of private sector jobs and generating $1 billion in annual economic impact for the region. The terminal represents a major investment for Hanjin in the Jacksonville community.

Read the announcement letter from Hanjin’s Executive Vice President G.S. Choi

In December 2008, Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) executives signed a 30-year lease agreement with Hanjin. The new terminal will be a key hub operation for Hanjin’s east coast port activity. The Hanjin terminal will have the capacity to handle 750 thousand containers each year, equaling almost 12 million tons of cargo. The Hanjin terminal will help create new private sector jobs in support operations such as trucking, distribution and related services in addition to the ILA positions on the terminal.

Construction of JAXPORT’s Hanjin Container Terminal will take approximately 24 months, following the design and permitting process. The new terminal will be located adjacent to the TraPac Container Terminal at Dames Point built for Tokyo-based Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL). The TraPac Container Terminal opened for business in January 2009.

Hanjin is Korea’s largest and one of the world’s largest container carriers, moving more than 100 million tons of cargo annually and operating in more than 50 countries. In the U.S., Hanjin’s subsidiary, Total Terminal International, presently runs dedicated terminal operations in Seattle, Long Beach and Oakland. The proposed Hanjin Container Terminal will be Hanjin’s first dedicated U.S. operation outside the west coast, a strategic move meant to capitalize on the expansion of the Panama Canal and the anticipated increase in container traffic along the east coast.

For more information: JAXPORT Director of Communications and Public Relations Nancy Rubin, 904-755-7212 Nancy.rubin@jaxport.com