The largest container ship to call on Jacksonville is coming. Here's how you can see it.

Gary T. Mills, Florida Times-Union
3 min read
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Nearly a year after JaxPort celebrated the completion of a $420 million project to deepen 11 miles of the St. Johns River to 47 feet, the largest container ship to ever call on Jacksonville is expected to arrive at the port’s Blount Island Marine Terminal on Tuesday.

That’s when One Stork, sailing under the flag of Japan, will mark a new era for Jacksonville’s port first signaled a year ago when JaxPort Chairwoman Wendy Hamilton said, "The future is here and JaxPort is equipped to meet the needs of the nation's supply chain for generations to come."

The process to deepen the river began in 2010 and spanned the administrations of three presidents, three Jacksonville mayors and four JaxPort CEOs to perform studies, secure financing and, finally, to dredge the river.

Until now, the ZIM USA with a capacity of 11,923 containers, was one of the biggest ships able to call on Jacksonville's port. With the completion of the deepening of the St. Johns River, even bigger ships can now call on JaxPort.
Until now, the ZIM USA with a capacity of 11,923 containers, was one of the biggest ships able to call on Jacksonville's port. With the completion of the deepening of the St. Johns River, even bigger ships can now call on JaxPort.

One Stork arrives: Largest container ship to call on Jacksonville arrives at JaxPort. Here's a first look.

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In May 2022, U.S. Army Col. James Booth, commander of the Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District, said the deepening was a "mega-project that cements Jacksonville's status as a critical port of call for global 21st Century commerce and economic development."

Here’s what you need to know about One Stork and how you can view its arrival.

What is One Stork and how big is it?

With a length of 364 meters or nearly four football fields, One Stork is the largest container ship to ever call on Jacksonville, the port says. The magenta-colored ship can carry 14,000 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) or containers, 2,000 more than the largest ships to previously call on the port.

How often will One Stork and other ships call on the port?

One Stork, operated by Ocean Network Express within THE Alliance network of ocean carriers, is the first of nine similarly sized larger container ships that will call on the port weekly.

Where is One Stork now?

At 8:30 Tuesday morning, One Stork was off the coast of Jacksonville, according to data tracked by vesselfinder.com. Previous stops included Savannah (May 5), New York (April 29), Halifax, Canada (April 26) and As Suways, Egypt (April 14).

When will One Stork arrive at Jacksonville’s port?

The One Stork ties up at the pier at JAXPORT Blount Island Marine Terminal where the previous largest container ship that the port could handle, the Zim Rotterdam was already tied up and moving cargo Tuesday morning. The container ship One Stork made its first stop at the JAXPORT Blount Island Marine Terminal pier Tuesday, May 9, 2023 marking it the largest ship to dock at the Jacksonville facility. Once tied up at the pier, the One Stork, capable of carrying 14,000 containers shared the pier with the the previous port record holder, the Zim Rotterdam, which could haul 11,900 containers.

The container ship is expected to arrive at JaxPort’s Blount Island Marine Terminal on Tuesday, May 9 at around 1:30 p.m., according to JaxPort's website, whose tracker showed the ship offshore near Mayport at around 9:30 a.m. Officials caution that the date and time are subject to change based on vessel operations.

Where can I track One Stork’s progress?

The public can track the arrival of the container ship from the mouth of the St. Johns River to the port at JaxPort’s website.

Where can I view One Stork’s arrival in Jacksonville?

One Stork arrives in Jacksonville on Tuesday, May 9. Here's where you can view it.
One Stork arrives in Jacksonville on Tuesday, May 9. Here's where you can view it.

According to JAXport, the best places to view the container ship’s inaugural call on Jacksonville include:

  • Huguenot Memorial Park, 10980 Heckscher Drive

  • Mayport Boat Ramp, 4870 Ocean St.

  • Mayport Waterfront Park, 4638 Ocean St.

  • Helen Cooper Floyd Park “Little Jetties,” 3600 SR A1A

  • Joe Carlucci Sisters Creek Boat Ramp, 8414 Heritage River Road

  • Fulton Boat Ramp, 5099 Fulton Road

For those who can safely take photos of the ship and want to share them on social media, the port asks users to tag their posts with #FoundONE.

David Bauerlein of the Times-Union contributed to this report.

This story has been updated to reflect the new arrival date of One Stork to Jacksonville.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville welcomes One Stork, largest container ship to call on port

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