One the world’s largest container shipping lines returned to the port of Miami. The arrival of the Hamburg Süd-chartered Catherine Rickmers at the port last week marked the inauguration of a weekly service that connects Miami to Asian ports and markets.

“It is a great day for PortMiami,” said Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez. “More shipping companies are discovering our advantageous location and excellent warehousing facilities that help increase the flow of cargo.”

“We are happy to be back at PortMiami,” said Hamburg Süd’s Vice President of Marine and Terminal Operations Robert Cannizzaro. “PortMiami’s performance and productivity surpass Hamburg Süd’s service level standards. Our company is fully committed to expanding to new markets. It is all about diversification, and our partners at PortMiami offer fast and reliable service critical for the delivery of time sensitive shipments.”

“We want to express a very warm welcome back to our partners at Hamburg Süd,” added port director Juan M. Kuryla. “PortMiami now offers world-class infrastructure to our growing line-up of cargo carriers, with new Super-post Panamax gantry cranes, a new on-dock intermodal rail service, and new tunnels linking the port directly to the U.S. Interstate Highway System. In just a few weeks we will be the only container port south of Virginia at a depth of 50 feet.”

The Hamburg Süd weekly service connects the port of Miami with Qingdao, Ningbo, and Shanghai, via the Panama Canal.