JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Nearly a year after JaxPort celebrated the completion of a $420 million project to deepen 11 miles of the St. Johns River to 47 feet, the largest container ship to ever call on Jacksonville is expected to arrive at the port’s Blount Island Marine Terminal on Tuesday.
That’s when One Stork, sailing under the flag of Japan, will mark a new era for Jacksonville’s port first signaled a year ago when JaxPort Chairwoman Wendy Hamilton said, "The future is here and JaxPort is equipped to meet the needs of the nation's supply chain for generations to come."
The process to deepen the river began in 2010 and spanned the administrations of three presidents, three Jacksonville mayors and four JaxPort CEOs to perform studies, secure financing and, finally, to dredge the river.
In May 2022, U.S. Army Col. James Booth, commander of the Army Corps of Engineers Jacksonville District, said the deepening was a "mega-project that cements Jacksonville's status as a critical port of call for global 21st Century commerce and economic development."
Here’s what you need to know about One Stork and how you can view its arrival.
What is One Stork and how big is it?
With a length of 364 meters or nearly four football fields, One Stork is the largest container ship to ever call on Jacksonville, the port says. The magenta-colored ship can carry 14,000 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) or containers, 2,000 more than the largest ships to previously call on the port.
How often will One Stork and other ships call on the port?
One Stork, operated by Ocean Network Express within THE Alliance network of ocean carriers, is the first of nine similarly sized larger container ships that will call on the port weekly.
Where is One Stork now?
On Friday, One Stork was in Savannah, according to data tracked by vesselfinder.com. Previous stops included New York (April 29), Halifax, Canada (April 26) and As Suways, Egypt (April 14).
When will One Stork arrive at Jacksonville’s port?
The container ship is expected to arrive at JaxPort’s Blount Island Marine Terminal at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 9. Officials caution that the date and time is subject to change based on vessel operations.
Where can I track One Stork’s progress?
The public can track the arrival of the container ship from the mouth of the St. Johns River to the port at JaxPort’s website.
Where can I view One Stork’s arrival in Jacksonville?
According to JAXport, the best places to view the container ship’s inaugural call on Jacksonville include:
- Huguenot Memorial Park, 10980 Heckscher Drive
- Mayport Boat Ramp, 4870 Ocean St.
- Mayport Waterfront Park, 4638 Ocean St.
- Helen Cooper Floyd Park “Little Jetties,” 3600 SR A1A
- Joe Carlucci Sisters Creek Boat Ramp, 8414 Heritage River Road
- Fulton Boat Ramp, 5099 Fulton Road
For those who can safely take photos of the ship and want to share them on social media, the port asks users to tag their posts with #FoundONE.
David Bauerlein of the Times-Union contributed to this report.
This story has been updated to reflect the new arrival date of One Stork to Jacksonville.