Canada Maritime has taken delivery of the first of two vessels expected to be the largest ships serving the carrier's Montreal gateway. The Canmar Venture (seen at right) entered service in July. Its sister ship, Canmar Spirit, will launch in September. The ships, which boast a service speed of 22 knots and a capacity of 4,100 TEUs each, are of a specialized design that meets the particular needs of the St. Lawrence Seaway trade.

Also acquiring new ships is OOCL, which has contracted for two more 8,063-TEU SX class vessels from Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. This brings the Hong Kong-based carrier's order to 10 ships, two of which have already been delivered. The most recent was the OOCL Long Beach, which made its maiden call at Long Beach Container Terminal last month. The SX-class ships measure 1,056 feet long and 140 feet wide. They have been designed with environmental protection and fuel conservation in mind.

SmartMail Services has acquired Drop Ship Express, the Minneapolis-based mail and parcel delivery company. The merged organization will employ 1,100 people at 22 processing centers nationwide.

TradeCard Inc. will offer its financial supply chain services to customers of Maersk Logistics. The companies will integrate their service offerings to seamlessly deliver electronic cargo receipts from Maersk's platform to TradeCard's system.

OIA Global Logistics and Siriani & Associates have teamed up to provide international cargo services to trade associations. Siriani represents 25 trade groups comprising about 35,000 companies. Its collaboration with OIA will provide association members with more shipping options, lower costs, and better service.

Menzies World Cargo and Iceland-based Eimskip have opened a new perishables handling center at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. "Freshport" provides a range of services for inspecting and handling fresh fish, meat, and ornamental fish. The facility can hold up to three cargo loads from Boeing 747 freighter aircraft.