Dole Food Company announced the launch of a new weekly vessel service called the Northeast United States, starting December 31, 2023. The expanded service will increase the capacity of tropical fresh fruits, including Dole branded bananas, pineapples, dragon fruit, mangoes, and limes, coming to the US from Colombia, Honduras and Guatemala into the Port of Wilmington, DE.

The service will deploy two 1,200 FEU container vessels, MV Robin-2 and MV Robin-5, in a 14-day rotation, with one of these vessels making weekly ports of call in Santa Marta, Colombia, Puerto Castilla, Honduras, and a new port of service in Puerto Barrios, Guatemala before landing in Wilmington, DE each Saturday. Both additional vessels entering the expanded service will allow for optimum freshness of the fruit through increased sourcing options, discharges, and port rationalization. These vessels allow for increased fuel efficiency of our service derived from slow-speed operation. All other existing Dole shipping services will be unchanged.

Dole Ocean Cargo Express, the company's commercial marine transportation service, also utilizes these vessels by introducing the Mayan Express Service between the Northeast United States and Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. The new service will expand ocean network coverage, providing an alternative to North Central America to and from the Port of Wilmington, DE. "Dole is excited to expand our service level into the Northeast, bringing even more fresh tropical fruit to market," stated Nelson Montoya, President of Dole Fresh Fruit North America. "Both existing and future Dole customers can be equally excited at this growth in our service as we continue our journey to make the world a healthier place."