Office of Naval Research - National Transportation Library

Between 1994 and 1999 Matson ran a single surplus 2,100-TEU container vessel on a weeklyservice between the Los-Angeles-Seattle and Los-Angeles-Vancouver lanes, a service thathas since been discontinued.26 Matson also took delivery of two 2,400-TEU containershipsat the cost of $100 million from the Kvaerner/Aker Shipyard in Philadelphia for servinginternational feeder service, empty-container repositioning, and domestic routes, but thisservice too was discontinued in 1999 due to poor financial performance. The service failedprimarily due to the high stevedoring costs. The company gained a key account withAnheuser Busch for domestic short-sea delivery but found it difficult to work out the detailedperformance arrangements or work out partnership agreements with trucking companies whosaw the service as a threat. 27Horizon Lines has operated some container services between Hawaii and Los Angeles in thepast and is planning feeder services for moving import containers for Maersk, Evergreen, orHanjin Shipping. As of this date, however, the feeder services have not started. Horizon hasmaintained that a Coastwise Container Feeder Network will serve as a safety valve forrelieving pressure at the nation’s “Gateway Corridor” ports, but that the recent economicdownturn has delayed the carrier’s plans to begin service. At a recent conference, Horizon’sdirector of terminal operations stressed the need for government action in support of the TitleXI ship building financing, elimination of the HMT for domestic container moves, anddevelopment of a National Port Development Plan. 28James River Barge and Norfolk-Richmond Feeder Cargo ServiceThe James River Barge Line initiated the Norfolk-Richmond “64 Express” tug-barge COBservice on December 1, 2008 with weekly tug-tow feeder service between Richmond andHampton Roads, using a hopper barge and pusher tug. The barge travels once weeklybetween the cities, carrying up to 128 20-foot containers. The service moves containersarriving at the deepwater port of Norfolk inland to Richmond on the river. (The companymotto is: “We've brought the ports of Hampton Roads 100 miles west!”) From Richmond,the service moves cargo back to Norfolk for shipment overseas. 29 The service is described asessentially a trucking service on the water that provides seamless door-to-door containerservice. The company relies on partnerships with trucking companies throughout centralVirginia and offers rates that are competitive with all truck rates. The 64 Express sailsSunday at 1400 each week from Portsmouth Marine Terminal and 1700 from NorfolkInternational Terminal for Richmond; with cargo arriving in Richmond at 1000 on Monday,with door-to-door cargo delivery option available to shippers.Sea Point, LLCThe Sea Point service is an example of SSS feeder service for dealing with containerimbalance and the need for empty container repositioning. The service, however, no longer26 http://www.matson.com/matnav/about_us/index.html27 Reeves and Associates, “Analysis of the Potential Markets for Short Sea Shipping Services ove the Ports ofFall River and New Bedford,” prepared for the Massachusetts Department of Business and Technology andSeaport Advisory Council, March 29, 2006.28 Tami Porter, Horizon Lines Inc., Presentation at the Journal of Commerce Marine Highway Conference,Jacksonville, Florida, April 2, 2009.29 64 Express website, http://www.64express.com/home.aspx.ONR SSS Final Report 29