Dole Food Company has started a new weekly shipping service to the Northeast United States as of December 31, 2023. The service is aimed at enhancing the capacity of tropical fresh fruits such as Dole branded bananas, pineapples, dragon fruit, mangoes and limes from Colombia, Honduras, and Guatemala into the Port of Wilmington, DE.
The company will utilize two 1,200 FEU container vessels, MV Robin-2, and MV Robin-5, operating on a 14-day rotation. Every week, one of these vessels will dock at ports in Santa Marta, Colombia, Puerto Castilla, Honduras, and a new service port in Puerto Barrios, Guatemala before arriving in Wilmington, DE each Saturday.
The introduction of these additional vessels into the expanded service will ensure optimal freshness of the fruit due to increased sourcing options, discharges, and port rationalization. These vessels also offer enhanced fuel efficiency due to their slow speed operation. All other existing Dole shipping services will remain the same.
Dole Ocean Cargo Express, the company’s commercial marine transportation service, will also make use of these vessels with the new Mayan Express Service. This service will connect the Northeast United States with Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, providing an additional ocean network coverage alternative to North Central America to and from the Port of Wilmington, DE.
Dole is thrilled to broaden our service level into the Northeast, delivering even more fresh tropical fruit to the market,” said Nelson Montoya, President of Dole Fresh Fruit North America. “We are confident that both our existing and future customers will be equally enthusiastic about this expansion in our service as we continue our mission to make the world a healthier place.”
Source: ajot.com