Port officials on Monday announced another new weekly service connecting the Port of Wilmington to stops in Asia.
 
The deal with ZIM Integrated Shipping Ltd. container carrier is the latest in a series of new service announcements in recent weeks.
 
“We’ve had three major service announcements in just over a month which sets us up for record throughput,” Tom Adams, chairman of the N.C. State Ports Authority Board of Directors, said in a news release Monday.
 
Last week, N.C. Ports officials said EC2 container service from THE Alliance carriers – NYK Group, “K” Line, MOL, Yang Ming and Hapag-Lloyd – would start at the Port of Wilmington in May,  with direct access to the markets of Qingdao, Ningbo and Shanghai in China and Busan in South Korea.
 
Before that, in late February, the ports also announced a new trans-Atlantic service through Mediterranean Shipping Company and Maersk Line between Europe and the East Coast.
 
Monday’s announcement focused on the addition of ZIM Integrated Shipping Ltd. adding the Port of Wilmington into its Z7S all-water Asia-U.S. East Coast service rotation.
 
“This weekly service will begin calling on the port in June and provides unprecedented access to major markets in South China, Southeast Asia and India Subcontinent,” the N.C. Ports’ release stated.
 
“This ZIM service will support legacy apparel, furniture and hardware industries throughout the Carolinas,” N.C. State Ports Executive Director Paul Cozza said in the release.
 
The route will be the first container service stopping at Wilmington’s port that uses the Suez Canal. Its rotation gives direct access to Yantian and DaChan Bay in China, Cai Mep in Vietnam, Port Kelang in Malaysia and Colombo in Sri Lanka.
 
With the exception of Yantian, those port calls are all new to N.C. Ports, officials said.
 
“North Carolina Ports will continue to be at the forefront by adapting to commercial developments across the Southeast,” Greg Fennell, chief commercial officer for N.C. Ports, said in the release. “Our approach has extended our global reach, delivering further options for regional importers and exporters.”