Enstructure says Chiquita deal a sign of things to come at Delaware’s Port Wilmington

Multi-year agreement is positive step for facility, operator

By Andrew Meadows

Two years after taking over the management of Port Wilmington (DE), U.S. terminal operator Enstructure says it is happy with the direction of the facility and forecasts growth not only in perishables but other cargoes as well.

The Wellesley, MA-based company points to a June multi-year agreement with Chiquita Brands International that will keep the banana giant in Wilmington as the most recent big win.

“Signing Chiquita to a multi-year agreement here in the Port of Wilmington says a lot about Chiquita’s commitment, not only here to the Port of Wilmington, but also to Enstructure, the State of Delaware, the ILA and that partnership for the future here so yeah, we’re really excited about it,” said Bayard Hogans, Regional President of the Mid-Atlantic for Enstructure, in a recent interview with the American Journal of Transportation (AJOT). “We’re continuing to make investments in the port to support not only Chiquita’s business, but other perishable cargoes and also diversify the port into other non-perishable cargoes.”

Bayard Hogans, Regional President of the Mid-Atlantic for Enstructure

Enstructure and Port Wilmington

In June 2023, Enstructure assumed management of Port Wilmington from long time operator Gulftainer. Port Wilmington, located at the confluence of the Christina and Delaware Rivers, is owned by the Diamond State Port Corp (DSPC), a quasi-state agency whose board members are appointed by the Governor of Delaware.

“(Enstructure) is very happy about our partnership here at Port Wilmington with the State of Delaware and with the ILA here. We want to invest in the infrastructure: we want to be a good partner to the state of Delaware, to the DSPC and to labor here with investing in the facility,” Hogans said. “We want to respect and grow the perishable cargoes that have been here historically, and separately we also want to continue to diversify the port with some additional year-round cargoes for the port and grow that as part of Enstructure’s larger network of terminals and those relationships that we bring here to Delaware into Wilmington whether it’s forest products, auto Ro/Ro, or other breakbulk commodities.”

The recent Chiquita announcement only solidifies Wilmington as ground zero for banana imports from Central and South America. Last year Dole Food Company’s Mayan Express deployed an additional 1,200 FEU container vessel between Colombia, Honduras, and Guatemala and Wilmington.

In total, Dole and Chiquita handle more than 1 million tons of bananas annually through Wilmington. Both companies use the port as their mid-Atlantic distribution hub importing bananas and other tropical fruit to supply 200 million U.S. and Canadian consumers.

Continue reading article here.

This article was originally posted by the American Journal of Transportation at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/enstructure-says-chiquita-deal-sign-things-come-port-wilmington-de-mp70e/.

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