World Direct Shipping extends Port Manatee agreement

World Direct Shipping, Palmetto, Fla., has extended an agreement with Port Manatee, and added a third vessel to its service.

The company offers three-day transits between Mexico and the Southeast, Midwest and Northeast U.S. for refrigerated fresh produce and other cargo, according to a news release.

The agreement lasts through 2026. World Direct Shipping began service at Port Manatee in 2014 with a single vessel from Veracruz, Mexico. Service now includes Tuxpan and Tampico, Mexico, according to the release.

A new vessel, with its first Port Manatee arrival on Jan. 10, brought 231 high-cube, 40-foot refrigerated containers from China to be added to the World Direct Shipping service.

The company’s cargo volume rose 90% in 2019 from the previous year with throughput at almost 50,000 20-foot-equivalent container units.

“World Direct Shipping has enjoyed a solid, trusted partnership with Port Manatee from the beginning,” Carlos Diaz, World Direct Shipping director, said in the release. “As our operations have expanded, the port has worked diligently to keep pace with our needs.”

World Direct Shipping’s M/V Queen B II makes its first call at Port Manatee on Jan. 10, delivering 231 high-cube, 40-foot-long refrigerated containers to enhance the company’s equipment fleet in trade across the Gulf of Mexico.

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