GT USA has announced the launch of the new Blue Stream weekly container cargo service connecting Port Canaveral to Europe, the French West Indies, and Central America.

The Blue Stream service is operated by StreamLines, N.V., part of the Seatrade Group, providing refrigerated and dry container service to and from the Canaveral Cargo Terminal, with a focus on fresh produce and perishable cargoes. The Blue Stream service rotation employs five ships with 1300 TEU capacity and 250 reefer plugs, on a weekly rotation.

The new line will serve Central America to Port Canaveral in three days and will offer the one of the fastest transit times between Florida and Europe, at 11 days. The service includes direct calls to the United Kingdom. Port Canaveral is the exclusive U.S. port of call on the service.

“We are excited about the opportunity to provide our signature service to StreamLines and to be its U.S. port of call,” said Peter Richards, CEO of GT USA, and managing director and CEO of the Gulftainer Group, a privately owned, independent terminal operating and logistics company. “The new Blue Stream service can showcase Port Canaveral as an ideal gateway, opening markets in Central America to Central Florida, and providing our local exporters the most efficient route to Europe. This will lead to more growth in coming months for Canaveral Cargo Terminal, building Port Canaveral’s reputation as a key U.S. cargo port.”

Blue Stream’s maiden call at GT USA’s Canaveral Cargo Terminal is expected on January 31 with the arrival of the M/V NORDEROOG. From Canaveral, the vessel will proceed directly to Rotterdam, Netherlands, with calls in Tilbury, United Kingdom, and Radicatel, France. After departing Europe, the schedule loop takes the vessels to the French West Indies ports of Fort de France, Martinique, Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe and Phillipsburg, and St. Maarten. From St. Maarten, the vessels then proceed on to Moín, Costa Rica; Puerto Cortés, Honduras; and Santo Tomas, Guatemala and from there directly on to Port Canaveral.

“We are extremely proud of this new venture, which is very much in line with the strategic view of the company,” said Pablo Gonzalez, general manager of StreamLines N.V. “The company is going through an intensive investment program, which includes building a series of custom designed, reefer-centric container ships, and for this reason, the new Blue Stream service becomes a stepping stone into the future of the company. It is in that spirit that we have decided to include a call to Port Canaveral, which we see as an important transit point for refrigerated, dry and project cargoes between Central America, Florida and Europe.”