National Shipping of America (National) celebrates this week the one-year anniversary of the launch of the “Isla Verde Express,” a fortnightly service connecting Puerto Rico with the mainland United States via the Houston gateway. The maiden voyage was May 29, 2013, and the service has maintained a 95 percent reliability record and no missed calls. National Shipping deploys the MV National Glory, a U.S. flagged container vessel (13,800 DWT) with a capacity of 570 TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent container Units), including 96 plugs for refrigerated containers. Upgraded in 2007, it is the only vessel in the domestic Puerto Rico trade specially designed to carry both containers and break bulk/project cargoes, either above or under deck. The National Glory is the most modern and greenest container vessel in the U.S.-Puerto Rico trade. It uses low-sulfur diesel oil to minimize the impact on air quality, and will transition to even cleaner fuel in 2015. National Shipping also deployed a new fleet of reefer (refrigerated) containers to meet the demand of shippers moving fresh and frozen foodstuffs to Puerto Rico. Its fleet of dry containers is the youngest in the trade. “Our call at Houston means that cargo, especially from the western United States, arrives several days faster than with the traditional method of using an East Coast port and then ocean transit by barge,” said Torey Presti, president of National Shipping. “By complementing the biweekly service of another provider from Houston, we keep our customers’ supply chains reliable and predictable.” Torey said that customers have not only embraced the new service, but also the new style of shipping, with personalized, no-nonsense service and a strong emphasis on vessel schedule reliability. In February, National Shipping partnered with Rickmers-Linie to provide more global connections to Puerto Rico shippers and greatly expand container and break bulk service opportunities to the island. Rickmers-Linie operates a 10-vessel, round-the-world Pearl String Service, connecting 16 ports in Europe, Asia, Middle East, and the Americas. It calls fortnightly at Houston, where Puerto Rico-destined cargo relays directly to the IVE service with minimal dwell time. To help manage its growing business, National Shipping last month appointed Roberto Lugo, Jr., to its vice president and general manager for Puerto Rico. Lugo has more than 30 years of experience in the transportation sector and Caribbean trade. The Isla Verde Express calls at the most flexible terminals in Houston and San Juan, offering direct rail links and value-added services such as warehousing, crossdocking, transloading, and bagging. Importantly, cargo discharges from the vessel and is available both in Houston and San Juan on weekdays for immediate delivery to distribution centers or onward intermodal transport without a weekend delay. The service is synchronized with intermodal rail connections to and from major load centers and distribution hubs throughout the western U.S., including Los Angeles, Oakland, and Stockton. Typical commodities shipped to Puerto Rico include resins, rice, beans, chemicals, beverages, and produce. From Puerto Rico, the U.S. mainland receives medical supplies, foodstuffs, and beverages. In addition to dry and refrigerated containers, the National Glory is configured to accommodate a wide range of oversize, out-of-gauge, and project cargo. Examples include construction materials, machinery, yachts, and large vehicles. Isla Verde Express 14-DAY Vessel Rotation