“Short sea shipping entails using existing vessels to move freight between coastal ports and also between coastal ports and inland ports as a means of reducing congestion on America’s highways and rail system,” says Charles G. Raymond, CEO, chairman and president of the U.S.’s largest domestic ocean carrier Horizon Lines (http://www.horizonlines.com/).
Raymond sees the short sea shipping plan as a complementary mode to traditional modes of inland freight movement. According to Raymond, in Europe, more than 44% of all European Union freight movement are accomplished on the water. Of all ton-kilometer movements in Europe, 41% is handled by short sea and 43% by road transport.
Beside reducing emissions and energy use, in the long run short sea shipping will require more technologically advanced vessels and infrastructure, says Raymond, which would help revitalize the U.S. maritime and shipbuilding industries.
