New hybrid vessel may help revive Portland
Maine Port Authority officials say the development of an innovative new hybrid vessel, cheaper than large freighters but more versatile than barges, could be the key to restoring container cargo service in the state's largest port, reported Bangor Daily News.
US Representative Chellie Pingree is bringing the country's top maritime official to Portland's International Marine Terminal, three days after New York-based American Feeder Lines announced it is discontinuing its container shipping service that tied Portland to Halifax.
The Maine Port Authority leases the terminal from the city of Portland. The loss of container service has dealt a blow to the agency's efforts to convince Maine importers and exporters that they can count on the port as a way to move products and materials around the world.
Further, the authority is in the midst of major capital upgrades at the terminal and agency leaders must revive shipping service at the site in order for the overhaul to be justified. In fiscal year 2011, the terminal ran at a loss of nearly $464,000.
But Pingree and Maine Port Authority executive director John Henshaw say they believe there are opportunities to rebuild container shipping in Portland. Among them is the proposed development of an Articulated Tug Barge adapted to handle shipping containers.
The tug boat-barge hybrid already is used in the petroleum trade, but would need a series of design modifications to allow it to carry the 40-foot-long rectangular steel shipping containers importers and exporters are accustomed to using.
Henshaw told the Bangor Daily News on Thursday such a vessel has been preliminarily designed under a joint venture by the US Maritime Administration and Defence Department, and Pingree hopes to convince federal Maritime Administrator David Matsuda that it's worth an additional allocation of about $350,000 to finish the designs.
"One thing that is going to make it easier to develop service to ports like Portland is a more efficient ship design that can be built in local yards at a low cost to make short-sea shipping more economical," Pingree said in a statement. "I'd like to see the Maritime Administration make the design of that ship a reality. It could go a long way to getting that service up and running again."
The hybrid ships would cost between $30 million and $50 million to construct, compared to the $70 million to $125 million price tag associated with large container ships. Henshaw said such vessels could be built by Washburn & Doughty Associates of East Boothbay, as the shipyard has experience with previous versions of the Articulated Tug Barges.
Henshaw said the US Department of Transportation has approved a Maine Port Authority project to develop a coastal shipping route from Portland to the port of New York, and the new barges would be key to breathing life into the channel.