Marine Log - February 2009 - (Page 25) MARINEHIGHWAY and the creation of dozens of jobs.” The Administrator of the U.S. Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, Terry Johnson, said “I am pleased that Congressman McHugh is moving forward with this important legislation. Removing the Harbor Maintenance Tax on nonbulk cargo in this way will foster the development of short sea shipping operations throughout the Great Lakes Seaway System and elsewhere.” The Director of the Port of Oswego, Jonathan Daniels, said “The barrier of HMT must be broken for the Port of Oswego to fulfill its full potential as a container feeder port serving the businesses of Central New York and beyond. The leadership of Congressman McHugh, in concert with his colleagues, is critical in making the necessary changes that will create an environment that will allow for short sea shipping to occur in the Great Lakes.” ML SEABRIDGE FREIGHT: A greener, cost effective highway S tart-up SeaBridge Freight, Jacksonville, Fla., provides transportation services on a “greener” more cost effective route—the maritime route. The company launched its marine highway transportation service last December between Port of Manatee in Tampa, Fla. and the Port of Brownsville in Texas. The service takes 300 truckloads off of the roads leading to a reduction in fuel consumption, emissions and highway congestion. According to Mark Cleveland, SeaBridge Freight’s chairman of the board, the company doesn’t compete with the transportation provider—whether rail or trucking—but rather it competes with the cement highways. Though 2008 was financially one of the worst years in our nation’s history, SeaBridge Freight was one of the few start-up companies able to obtain funding. The money, in large part, came from entrepreneurs who Cleveland says recognized the opportunity to save money by “supporting and doing a brisk business with SeaBridge Freight.” And that “despite the current economic disruption, there is plenty of freight moving between the markets we serve.” In fact, during its first few weeks of operation, SeaBridge Freight experienced higher than expected demands in both its East and West bound lanes. Cleveland attributes SeaBridge Freight’s early success to its ability to “eliminate costs in the supply chain in a way that every participant can still profit.” SeaBridge Frieght is currently using a 600TEU capacity barge for its operations, but Cleveland reports that the company expects to perfect its purpose-built design in the next year. OVERCOMING PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS Convincing trucking companies, railroad execs, government entities and even maritime operators who together resisted change, did not come easy. The obvious benefits of moving highway operations to a maritime route were met with resistance and caution. “Preconceived notions as to what is possible and what is not possible were our most difficult hurdles to over- SeaBridge Freight’s “marine highway” service transports market goods come,” Cleve- between Port Manatee, Tampa, Fla. and Brownsvile, Texas land, “the first hurdle was to overcome skepticism in all parts of the market. Earlier short sea failures and a lack of directly comparable competition can give investors and the market an excuse to study and stall rather than innovate and execute.” Cleveland anticipates SeaBridge Freight’s port pairing will receive an America’s Marine Highway designation, though he quickly states “although our business is perhaps an ideal example of public/private partnership, we did not enter this market expecting direct governement support. It should be there, but we don’t count on it.” http://www.eagle.org
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.