Ocean carrier World Direct Shipping has announced plans to begin weekly sailings between the Port of Pensacola in Florida and the Port of  Coatzacoalcos in Mexico’s state of Veracruz.

A second port in the northern region of Mexico’s Gulf Coast will be added to the rotation shortly. The first sailing from Coatzacoalcos is scheduled to arrive in Pensacola today (Feb. 1).

“With Pensacola and Port Manatee, World Direct Shipping enhances its service network between Mexico and the Southeast United States," company director Carlos Diaz said.

"Pensacola will be a great complement to our current Port Manatee operations. Most importantly, we will be providing shippers between the U.S. and Mexico additional flexibility in meeting their shipping needs with our proven track record of speed, reliability and personalized care to customers."

Calling two ports in the state of Veracruz gives World Direct Shipping access to Mexico City’s great market and industrial areas, which, according to Diaz, should provide more opportunities for more exports through Port of Pensacola from the Southeast U.S. market.

“We are incredibly excited about this new service,” said Pensacola Port director Amy Miller. 

“Breaking into the container markets is a big deal for a smaller port like Pensacola. While largescale container operations may be out of reach for us, we’ve always known that there were smaller, niche container markets out there that made sense.

“Since first becoming acquainted with World Direct Shipping nearly a year ago, port staff, our local stevedoring company Pate Stevedores, and the great folks at World Direct Shipping have worked hard to put together a quality service that we’re confident will grow and thrive here.”

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