MATSON WITHDRAWS BID FOR CANADA-HAWAII SERVICE
Matson Navigation Co. has withdrawn a request for U.S. Maritime Administration approval of a new service which would have linked Vancouver, British Colombia; Seattle; Oakland, Calif.; and Honolulu.
Matson wanted to start the service this year, but the prospect of “protracted proceedings” at MarAd prompted the company to withdraw its application for the time being.
MarAd’s approval is required because Matson proposed to operate the service with two ships built with government subsidy. Ships built with subsidies are not permitted to operate in the domestic offshore or other Jones Act trades without the approval of MarAd. However, since the service included calls at the Canadian port of Vancouver, Matson maintained that the new service would be an international service, rather than a domestic service.
The application drew a mix of letters, both opposing and supporting the proposed Matson venture.
The American Shipbuilding Association and Van Ommeren Shipping were among those opposing the application.'
ASA president Cynthia Brown said that if approved, the service could undermine investments made by competing domestic trade operators to upgrade their fleets.
Van Ommeren argued that Matson’s objective was “to delay for at least a decade the revitalization of Matson’s Hawaii Jones Act fleet” by using vessels built with subsidy in trades where such vessels are prohibited.
British Columbia’s Chamber of Shipping was among those supporting the Matson proposal. “We are firmly behind this initiative as a healthy stimulant to both maritime commerce and modal competition, for the ultimate benefit of the economies” of both the U.S. and Canada, said the chamber’s president Ron Cartwright.