French carrier CMA CGM said it will start calling at the new Mobile Container Terminal with its PEX 3 service linking Asia to the U.S. Gulf and East Coast.

The first CMA CGM vessel to call Mobile will be the CMA CGM Orca, scheduled to arrive Dec. 26.

The terminal, which has a startup capacity of 350,000 TEUs, has been in operation since early October, when it received the first call by the Port of Mobile’s only current container service, the AGX all-water service from Asia operated by Zim Integrated Shipping Services.

James K. Lyons, executive director of the Alabama State Port Authority, said in an interview that he expects deals with at least two more carriers by year-end.

The Journal of Commerce Online