# Presentation: 610519

## Short Sea Shipping Initiative

**Short Sea Shipping Initiative**
**Presented at:**

**FHWA’s Talking Freight Seminar**
**	****	****	****	****	****December 17, 2003**
**	****	****	**
**Carl J. Sobremisana**
**	****  ****U.S. Maritime Administration**

## Presentation Outline

- Introduction and Description of Maritime Administration (MARAD) and Short Sea Shipping (SSS) Initiative
- Lessons Learned from European SSS
- Overview of U.S. Waterway System
- Needs and Activities of SSS
- Challenges and Accomplishments
- Conclusions and Recommendations

## U.S. Maritime Administration

**Mission**

## History of Short Sea Shipping (SSS)

***SSS in the Western World began between 1200 B.C. and 900 B.C. by the Phoenicians in the Mediterranean Sea and in the U.S. in 1600 A.D. along the East Coast.***

## Working Definition“SSS is defined as commercial waterborne transportation that does not transit an ocean.  It is an alternative form of commercial transportation that utilizes inland and coastal waterways to move commercial freight off already congested highways, thereby providing more efficient and safer roadways for car passengers while alleviating congestion at critical choke points.  A secondary effect of SSS would be reduction of air pollution and overall fuel consumption through economies of scale.  Without building more highways, SSS can provide additional capacity with the National Transportation System through greater use of waterborne carriage and can enhance linkages to our North and South American trading partners.”

## Lessons from North Europe

**Lessons from North Europe**

**Short Sea Shipping: strong and growing**
**Reduces road congestion**
**Economizes on fuel & reduces pollution**
**Viable services require **
**reliability**
**high frequencies **
**short transit times**
**imaginative infrastructure**

- Source:  Port of Rotterdam

## Slide 7

## Slide 8

## U.S. Waterway System

## U.S. Army Corps of EngineersNational Data Center - National Waterway System

## Top Gateways for International Freight Exports and Imports in Tons

- Source: Federal Highway Administration

- Source:  Federal Highway Administration

**Notes:**
Highlights our top gateways, land and water ports of entry; this highlights facilities of national significance for trade.  The FAF seeks to provide information on both rail and truck crossings, but also the port landside access.  The bottlenecks that exist at ports or border crossings need to be addressed to improve economic competitiveness and offset local congestion problems.  For example, the Alemeda Corridor in Southern California, or the FAST program in Washington State are seeking to improve both freight mobility and urban traffic flows.

The Freight Office is engaged in many border activities, including simulating border facility construction, border and corridor programs, and encouraging technology deployment at border facilities to increase throughput.  Information on these items is available on our website.

## Water transportation is efficient

***This ONE barge is equal to...***

**180 Trucks**

**25,000 miles of inland and coastal waterways**
**Waterways connections to 152,000 miles of rail**
**Waterway links to 460,000 miles of pipelines**
**Port connections to 45,000 miles of interstate highways**

- Source:  Maritime Administration

**Notes:**
Water transportation is efficient because barges are big compared to railcars and trucks.
A 60,000 barrel  two barge tow typical of the tows that operate on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway is equal to 80 railcars or 300 trucks.

The towboat that moves that two barge tow has two engines that are comparable to a large truck engine.

On the lower Mississippi, tows often consist of 40 barges. To move the same amount of freight as those 40 barges would require a train over 7 miles long or a convoy of 2300 trucks that would stretch over 90 miles on our highways.
The towboat towing those 40 barges uses two railroad engines.

Kirby 78,000 trucks

## Distance covered per cargo - tonwith the same quantity of fuel

**Distance covered per cargo - ton****with the same quantity of fuel**

- Source:  Maritime Administration

## Port of Portland Terminal 5

- Barges and deep-seavessels are worked on the same wharf with the same cranes

## Barges in Portland

- Source: JWD Group

- Source:  JWD Consultants

## Matson Barge for Hawaii Service

- Source: JWD Group

- Source:  JWD Consultants

## SSS New Development Activities

- NY- NJ Port Inland Distribution Network
- MARAD High Speed Ferry and Coastwise Vessel Studies
- State of Florida Intra-coastal and Inland Waterway www.dot.state.fl.us/publictransportation/Documents/WaterwayStudy/WaterwayStudy.htm
- Gulf of Mexico and U.S. Short Sea Shipping www.gomsa.org

## Drivers of Success for Short Sea Vessels

**  **

** ****Line haul vessel costs, costs at origin, costs at destination**
** ****Adapt  vessel to land rather than vice versa**
** ****Environmental, Safety, and QOL Factors**
** ****Policy Focus and Incentives**

**Notes:**
3 main cost components come together to provide a framework in estimating overall efficiency relative to
road and rail

## TAKING A FRESH APPROACH: Port Inland Distribution Network A Port Authority of New York / New Jersey Concept

## TAKING A FRESH APPROACH: DELTA IV ROCKET TRANSPORT

- A SPECIALIZED VESSEL DESIGNED TO CARRY ROCKETS FROM THE INLAND WATERWAY STYSTEM TO CAPE KENNEDY:
-   Operates  in Shallow Rivers and Low Bridges.
-   Also carries commercial cargo

**TAKING A FRESH APPROACH: DELTA IV ROCKET TRANSPORT**

## Why the U.S. needs SSS?

***-  Congestion increases for passengers and freight***
***-  Air pollution increases in urban areas  ***
***-  Accidents increase: Surface truck traffic in mix with passengers causes safety issues ***
***-  Economic growth relies on a smooth flow of goods***
***-  Existing infrastructure cannot handle the increases***
***	******	******1.  Not integrated***
***	******	******2.  Highway centric***
***	******	******3.  Aging infrastructure***
***	******	******4. Not set up for urban population increases***
***	******	******5. Transport nodes are in urban centers***

**Notes:**
America’s economy, security, environment and quality of life are all dependent on a healthy marine transportation system.  As the world’s largest economy continues to grow, the U.S. marine system must keep pace to meet the significant demands of increased trade, cargo and passenger movements.

## GROWTH BY REGION: US INTER & INTRA-REGIONAL TONNAGE GROWTH TO 2020

- Source:  Federal Highway Administration

## THE ISSUES:

- U.S. global maritime trade expected to double by 2020
- 10,000 more trucks per day projected on the I-95 corridor
- Cost of expanding U.S. highway system is significant:
-  	New highway can cost $32 Million per lane mile		New highway interchanges can cost over $100 million

## Challenges to SSS

## THE CHALLENGE: USE ALL ELEMENTS OF THE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM TO MEET GROWING DEMAND

- Projected highway congestion in 2020:
- Source - Federal Highway Administration

## Slide 26

## US/Mexico Truck Traffic on US Highway Network, 2020  (Tons)

- Source: Federal Highway Administration
- US Department of Transportation

**Notes:**
Here is the subset of the traffic as it relates to U.S.-Mexican traffic in the year 2020.

Mexico is our number two trading partner.  Free trade in the Americas will further spur Latin American trade and growth in traffic particularly through our southern gateways.

In previous slide, average annual compound growth for Mexico was 3.4% a year.  This figure does not assume the movement of Mexican trucks on the U.S. system, but reflects the future activity of U.S.-Mexican freight on the nation’s system.  

## Market Challenges

**1.  Frequency**
**One sailing per week insufficient**
**2.  Container size**
**Domestic market favored bigger boxes**
**3.  Overweight containers**
**4.  Drayage expense to and from port facility**

*S.S. Manulani*

**Market Challenges**

## Shipping System Market Integration and  Ship Operating Challenges

_**Shipping System Market Integration and  Ship Operating Challenges**_

- Formation of partnerships with trucking industry
- Implement single bill of lading interface and shore-side distribution systems
- Develop reliable schedules with trucking, rail, and/or ocean container connections
- Structure and implement low cost ship operating crew complement
- Source: TRB Marine Board 2003 Spring Meeting

- Source:  TRB Marine Board Spring Meeting

## SSS Challenges (Continued)

- Terminal Operational Challenges
- Federal Harbor Maintenance Tax, Stevedoring Costs, Terminal Location, Terminal Facilities
- Jones Act Challenges
- High Capital Costs of Ships and Crews
- Ship Financing Challenges
- Mitigating Financial Risks
- Source: TRB Marine Board 2003 Spring Meeting

- Source:  TRB Marine Board 2003 Spring Meeting

## Matson’s Pacific Coast Shuttle

_**Distance/Transit Time**_Los Angeles to Seattle: 1,144 miles - **2.5 days**Seattle to Oakland:	 807 miles - **1 day, 16 hours**

***Successes and Snags in U.S. Short Sea Shipping***

## MARAD SSS Accomplishments

- New York City SSS Conference
- Establishment of MARAD Task Force on SSS
- Creation of of SSS Cooperative (SCOOP)

- Sarasota, FL SSS Conference
- MOC with U.S./Canada/Mexico
- MOC with Gulf of Mexico States Accord (GOMSA) and Gulf of Mexico States Partnership

## International Cooperation on SSS

- MARAD shared information on SSS in the U.S. at the “Pentaport Seminar to Develop the Port of Incheon as a Logistics Hub in Northeast Asia”

## Conclusions

## National Freight Policy

- There is a need to establish an intermodal freight policy in USDOT that integrates  robust SSS within the U.S. Marine Transportation System
- Educating the public-at-large, including state departments of transportation, metropolitan planning organizations, shippers, railroads, and truckers of the benefits of SSS

## Future SSS Initiatives

- Development of Partnerships with the Public and Private sectors
- U. S. Department of Transportation Strategic Plan
- MARAD Strategic Plan
- Creation of a MARAD SSS Program

## For further information contact:

- Carl J. Sobremisana
- Secretary of the MARAD SSS Task Force
- (202) 366-5471
- E-mail: _[carl.sobremisana@marad.dot.gov](mailto:carl.sobremisana@marad.dot.gov)_
- MARAD Web Site:  _[www.marad.dot.gov](http://www.marad.dot.gov/)_