Great White Fleet Splits US-Central America Network into Dedicated Loops

Chiquita’s Great White Fleet is set to restructure its liner network connecting Central America and the United States this December, according to data from DynaLiners. The overhaul will effectively decouple the carrier’s Gulf Coast and East Coast coverage, moving away from a multi-region rotation in favor of two dedicated loops.

The primary change involves the removal of Port Everglades from the existing USSE service. This Florida call will be transferred to a newly established service branded PEWI, which will focus exclusively on the Port Everglades and Wilmington, Delaware, corridors. The PEWI service is scheduled to operate on a weekly basis, utilizing two container ships with capacities of approximately 1,800 TEUs each.

Operational Specialization

Under the new structure, the USSE service will focus on a streamlined Gulf rotation, calling at Puerto Barrios, Puerto Cortés, Gulfport, and Freeport, Texas. Meanwhile, the PEWI loop will link Puerto Barrios and Puerto Cortés directly to Port Everglades and Wilmington. This separation suggests a strategic move to insulate the two schedules from one another, preventing operational delays in the US Gulf from cascading into the East Coast schedule.

For a carrier primarily focused on the time-sensitive transport of perishables, the restructuring prioritizes schedule integrity and transit-time reliability over the potential cost efficiencies of a consolidated service. By creating a dedicated loop for Wilmington—a critical gateway for the Mid-Atlantic fruit market—Great White Fleet ensures more predictable delivery windows for its cold chain operations.

The move also clarifies the carrier’s vessel employment strategy for the region. Deploying two 1,800 TEU vessels on the PEWI loop provides a consistent weekly capacity tailored to the specific demand of the Florida and Delaware markets, while allowing the USSE service to operate as a pure Gulf play. The restructuring is expected to be fully implemented by the end of the year.

Source: Container News