NSA offers project cargo link between Houston, Puerto Rico

Project cargo moving from Houston and other U.S. West and Midwest origins now has an option for getting to Puerto Rico that does not include passing over docks in Jacksonville, FL. While recognizing that Jacksonville will continue to garner its longtime lion’s share of commerce between the U.S. mainland and the island commonwealth, Torey Presti, president of San Francisco-based National Shipping of America, is confident that his company’s fortnightly combination container and breakbulk service between Houston and San Juan can play a meaningful role. Since established in 2007, NSA, a Jones Act, U.S.-flag operator, has been under long-term charters with APL and ACT in support of the war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, which included handling large vehicles and other project cargos while simultaneously carrying dry and refrigerated containers. In May, though, NSA redeployed its M/V National Glory on an every-other-week schedule between Houston’s Jacintoport and San Juan’s Intership terminal, offering a combination service capable of transporting project cargos in addition to containers.

“With Houston being the U.S. capital of breakbulk project cargo, we thought it was a good fit,” Presti said. “Even though our ship is a single-decker containership, we have redefined the use of flatracks and stowage onboard our vessel to accommodate the larger types of cargo. Additionally, terminals on both ends provide the knowledge and expertise to handle out-of-gauge cargos.” The service, dubbed Isla Verde Express, already has carried such noncontainerized items as several passenger boarding bridges, originating in Utah and Texas, being utilized in the public-private, $1.5 billion renovation of San Juan Luis Muñoz Marñn International Airport. Presti said he believes numerous cargo opportunities will be provided in coming years by further airport work and several additional Puerto Rican infrastructure projects being advanced under public-private partnerships, including rail, toll road, school and water and sewer endeavors, plus tourism-related development. Steel, pipes, rolling stock, refinery equipment and yachts also offer opportunities, he added. “There are a number of things on the horizon that are promising for project cargo,” Presti said. “Anything really west of the Mississippi has a good chance of coming over Houston, competitively, rather than the typical Jacksonville. “An island trade has unique demands, with a need for constant replenishment of goods as storage costs can be high,” Presti said. “By calling Houston, we offer a central U.S. location, which, together with synchronized intermodal connections, enhances the options for shippers and keeps their supply chains predictable and steady.” Presti noted that, in conjunction with Palos Heights, Ill.-based intermodal provider Interdom LLC, the Isla Verde Express service offers synchronized rail connections with major load centers throughout the U.S. West, including such California hubs as Los Angeles, Oakland and Stockton. “We do see rail as being an opportunity, in that we do have on-dock rail at Jacintoport,” Presti said, also citing the Kansas City Southern de México link with burgeoning Mexican and cross-border production centers. Also, oversized, out-of-gauge cargo coming into Houston by ship from Asia or elsewhere may then be moved by NSA to Puerto Rico, as has been the case with shipments for Hamburg, Germany-based Rickmers-Linie. “For example, Rickmers is scheduled to bring a boiler from South Korea to Houston in the first quarter, and then we would serve as the connecting carrier into San Juan,” Presti said. Cranes with 150-ton lift capabilities are used at the Houston and San Juan terminals that are at either end of the 1,760-nautical-mile route. Norton Lilly International serves as NSA’s general agent in both the continental United States and Puerto Rico. “NSA is a small organization,” Presti said, “but we have partnered with best-in-class companies to provide customers with outstanding personal service.”