Economic boost sails into Wilmington

Of all of the ships in and out of the Port of Wilmington Friday, one in particular was the center of attention.

The Maersk Tangier made its maiden docking Friday afternoon. Maersk is the world’s largest container shipping operation and will now open a direct connection to Central America for North Carolina shippers.

That’s good news for North Carolina’s textile and apparel industries, along with the Port of Wilmington.

“Certainly it opens up an opportunity for North Carolina businesses to benefit from lower costs by having their cargo handled through the Port of Wilmington,” said port CEO Tom Eager. “Certainly it brings a lot of economic impact to the local area, jobs primarily. There’s a lot of activity.”

The Maersk ships are scheduled to call at the Port of Wilmington on a weekly basis. On the other end they will dock in Honduras and Guatemala.