Marine Log - December 2008 - (Page 35) BY H. CLAYTON COOK , ESQ. MARINEHIGHWAY TRANS-GULF >>One step closer he U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) discussions of coastal shipping as a partial solution for certain Interstate Highway corridor congestion problems have been ongoing for at least the past half dozen years. Variously referred to as “short sea shipping” or “short sea transportation,” the subject matter has been a principal focus of Maritime Administration (MarAd) attention commencing with Maritime Administrator Schubert’s March 2002 House Armed Services Committee testimony and continuing until the present day. During this same period the Department of Defense (DOD) has become increasingly interested in the availability of coastal shipping Roll-on/Roll-off (RO/RO) vessel assets to meet DOD future national defense and national security needs. While everyone has recognized that a robust coastal shipping secMARINE HIGHWAY, NORTH OF THE BORDER: This past summer, the Canadian flag Dutch Runner initiated a new short sea transportation service for newly formed Great Lakes Feeder Lines that included calls at the Port of Halifax. Will U.S.-flag Marine Highway vessels look similar? www.marinelog.com The Marine Highway: MARINE HIGH- WAY I T tor “could” assist the nation in dealing with these and other national policy problems, no such coastal shipping sector has developed as a private sector initiative. Perhaps because the necessary interrelationship of vessel and terminal designs, port facilities, and marshalling yards and Interstate Highway connectors, in states along the nation’s Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific coastlines, the situation has been characterized as the “short sea transportation puzzle.” As time has passed, it has become more or less generally agreed that any near term development of a coastal shipping sector adequate to address these national needs would require national government leadership and support. ENERGY INDEPENDENCE & SECURITY ACT With last December’s enactment of the Marine Transportation sections of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, Congress and the Bush Administration provided the Secretary of Transportation with the authority to develop a comprehensive federal program that would foster the development of a “short sea transportation” sector. The Act contemplated the creation of a plan that would provide an environment that n testimony this past October before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Peter Drakos, president of Coastal Connect LLC, outlined several private sector efforts to develop America’s Marine Highways. Coastal Connect’s effort would involve four CNG-fueled RO/RO design vessels that will principally carry 53 ft domestic trailers between New Jersey and Rhode Island. Coastal Connect expects to settle on its ship design by the end of this year. One private sector effort that plans to start this month is SeaBridge Freight, Inc., Jacksonville, Fla. The company announced that it will launch its “marine highway” short sea transportation service on Dec. 1. continued on page 37 DECEMBER 2008 MARINE LOG 35 http://www.marinelog.com
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.