NYK has signed a one-year trial agreement with Port Canaveral to provide a monthly roll-on/roll-off (ro/ro) service connecting the Florida port with Central and South America.

“With the relatively short trucking distance between Port Canaveral and the numerous auto and heavy equipment auctions located in central Florida, the NYK service will provide area businesses with cost-effective options and positions us competitively with other Florida seaports,” said Alberto Cabrera, Port Canaveral’s senior director of cargo business development.

The port’s ro/ro facility is located at North Cargo Pier 1, which includes a 150-foot ro/ro ramp. All general cargo berths are also available for ro/ro vessels with almost 95 acres of open-air storage available within 100 feet from dock to point of rest.

Adjacent to Orlando, the largest auto rental market in the world and home to several automobile and heavy equipment auctions, Port Canaveral “is ideal for importing and exporting new and used ro/ro cargoes,” the port said in a statement, adding that said Ambassador Services Inc. will serve as vessel agent and terminal operator.

Japan’s NYK, in addition to its container and general cargo operations, is one of the world’s largest car transport companies with 125 auto- ro/ro carriers, or about 17 percent of the global car transportation fleet capacity.

In March, the carrier signed a joint-venture agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Ports Development Co. to develop its first ro/ro terminal operating company at King Abdullah Port on the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia.

“NYK looks forward to adding Port Canaveral to its service scope to meet our customers growing demands” said Gary J. Hurley, VP Sales-NYK Line RORO Division.