JAXPORT Facilitates Mammoth Move for US Military

The Jacksonville Port Authority, or JAXPORT, has facilitated the movement of nearly 2,500 pieces of US military hardware through the Florida port’s Blount Island Marine Terminal, one of the largest vehicle import-export hubs in the US.

The cargo, which included almost 100 aircraft, was loaded in two shipments in March, JAXPORT said in a statement. The first shipment was destined for Europe to support NATO operations, while a second was sent to the Middle East to aid US defence department initiatives in the region.

The second shipment was handled by American Roll-on Roll-off Carrier, or ARC.

JAXPORT is one of 17 strategic seaports in the US on-call to quickly move troops and equipment for national defence, overseas humanitarian missions and disaster relief. Other ports in the programme include Long Beach in California, Savannah in Georgia and Corpus Christi in Texas.

The South Carolina-based 841st Transportation Battalion – part of the US Army’s Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command – coordinated the move, while SSA Atlantic, one of several stevedoring partners operating at JAXPORT, towed the cargo aboard.

“The Jacksonville Detachment of the 841st Transportation Battalion just loaded out the ARC Endurance, a commercial vehicle carrier, in Jacksonville for the final loading of this significant move,” said Lt. William Tucker, the battalion’s executive officer.

“The detachment worked hard over the Easter weekend and completed the last leg of the mission in four days in support of global strategic tasking. We appreciate JAXPORT’s efficiencies enabling us to move military cargo to support our US forces and nation,” he added.

ARC, the largest US-flag RoRo carrier, provides port-to-port and end-to-end transport of heavy vehicles, helicopters, household goods, privately-owned vehicles and other equipment for the US government and its various agencies.

ARC will be exhibiting at Breakbulk Americas, happening on 26-28 September in Houston.