Sea Star to sail from Philadelphia

Sea Star to sail from Philadelphia

   Sea Star Line, the U.S. mainland-Puerto Rico container and roll-on/roll-off carrier, will begin service from the Tioga Marine Terminal in the Port of Philadelphia next month.

   The carrier, which served the Northeast through the APM Terminal in Elizabeth, N.J. using space chartered from its competitor Horizon Lines, will now use its own ship, offering weekly calls on Fridays, beginning April 23.

   Cargo will still be accepted in Elizabeth, N.J.

   “For several years we have been studying the potential to expand in the Northeast,” said Fred Schloth, assistant vice president.

   Sea Star will greatly increase its capacity to the region from the 125 40-foot slots it had chartered from Horizon, to 600 40-foot slots on its containerships in addition to the ro/ro space below deck.

   In addition to flexibly designed container and trailer space, the Sea Star ships have a garage area that accommodates oversize cargo, and another garage dedicated to automobiles.

   In addition to wanting more capacity, Schloth also indicated Sea Star has been frustrated with congestion in Elizabeth.

   In February, Horizon Lines said it had renewed its terminal agreements with APM in other ports, but had retained an option to exclude the Elizabeth terminal if it chooses to serve the Northeast market from a port outside of New York or New Jersey.

   Sea Star will add a third ship, El Faro, into service between the U.S. mainland and Puerto Rico that will be used in conjunction with the El Yungue and El Morro in a butterfly service between San Juan and the ports of Philadelphia, Jacksonville and Port Everglades. El Faro was used during maintenance on its two sister ships and for special charters such as carrying military cargo to the Middle East.

Peake

   Frank Peake, Sea Star's president and chief operating officer, said Tioga would provide “ready access to highways and intermodal facilities, quick gate turns, on-site warehouse space, reefer plug availability, heavy-lift cranes and ample space.'

   Schloth said Sea Star would also offer a faster alternative out of Philadelphia to ro/ro shippers. Crowley Maritime offers ro/ro service from the Delaware River out of a terminal on Petty’s Island in Pennsauken, but it uses barges. ' Chris Dupin