J Wade Russell News

U.S. Coast Guard marine inspectors conducted safety and security examinations on the first-ever containership to arrive in Cleveland Saturday morning. The Fortunagracht, a 450-foot Dutch-flagged containership, delivered the first-ever load of containerized cargo to the Great Lakes. Before the establishment of the Cleveland-Europe Express, shippers relied heavily on rail service to transport goods from the larger east coast container ports, such as New York and Baltimore, to the Great Lakes region.

The US Coast Guard say that the 'Fortunagracht', a 450-foot Dutch-flagged container ship, has delivered the first-ever load of containerized cargo to the Great Lakes. Before the establishment of the Cleveland-Europe Express, shippers relied heavily on rail service to transport goods from the larger east coast container ports, such as New York and Baltimore, to the Great Lakes region. Talks to bring CEE to Cleveland began in the fall with cooperation between the Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection, the FBI and other government agencies.