By Karen E. Thuermer, AJOT At the heart of any steamship line operation is the desire to satisfy customer needs. Despite continued challenges within the world economy, Sea Star Line has been making efforts to do just that. A privately held company headquartered in Jacksonville, FL that operates in the Caribbean trade lanes, Sea Star’s integrated transportation services operate to and from the U.S. ports of United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Tortola. Its service schedule offers two weekly sailings between Jacksonville, FL, and San Juan; weekly service between Philadelphia and San Juan; service every 14 days between Houston and San Juan, the only weekly service between South Florida (Port Everglades) and San Juan; and weekly service to St. Thomas, St. Croix, and Tortola. Expanded Philadelphia Service Most recently, the carrier introduced expanded service to the U.S. Northeast coast with its inaugural sailing on April 23 from San Juan Puerto Rico to Philadelphia. Fred Schloth, spokesman for the carrier, describes the weekly service as “a versatile fast ship service that is offered in direct response from the market.” “Volumes have risen substantially,” he says. “Our customers wanted the option to use the same premium service they enjoy out of the southeast for their northeast cargo.” That service involves a high speed combination roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) and lift-on/lift-off (lo-lo) vessels considered to be the most versatile in the trade. “In the past, if you had a big piece of equipment, you had to put it on a barge, which makes the schedule integrity questionable because of its lack of speed,” he says. Over the last decade, volumes from the Northeast had steadily declined year-after-year as shippers re-routed their freight through other ports in the South Atlantic. The reason, he states, was to avoid the congestion and high cost of doing business in the Northeast. “This year, for the first time in years, freight levels moving through Northeast ports have stabilized and even grown in some instances,” Schloth says. Other factors were also at play that resulted in Sea Star choosing Philadelphia in its service offerings. For one, Scholth says, the company saw alternative service as good for all customers by providing options and rising the level of service and competition. Another factor, the Port of Philadelphia is less congested than other Northeast seaports. “With the terminal being light on container traffic, Sea Star Line is the dominate tenant, which is great for customer service,” he says. “In addition, support for the vessel deployment from our customers was overwhelming and the commitment of volumes was far better than expected.” Plus, the Ports of Philadelphia and San Juan were very cooperative offering operating incentives to assist in the startup. But the biggest benefit for shippers is the service is high speed and versatile, combining the advantages of a barge and vessel service. “We accept over-weight and out of gauge cargo,” says Scholth. “The service is ro-ro and lo-lo.” It will be capable of handling big boxes such as 53-foot, 48- foot, 45-foot, etc, and reefer capability. In addition, the Port of Philadelphia offers, rail access easy, access off I-95, and plenty of warehouse space. Sea Star executives see it as ideal for pharmaceutical shipments as well as frozen /fresh foods. “Now with the addition of Philadelphia, our network is even stronger,” he says. Market Reviews Sea Star continually reviews market trends in Puerto Rico, as well as other geographic regions to determine emerging markets and new opportunities. It found, for example, that cargo volumes in the Puerto Rico trade significantly decreased in 2009 compared to 2004. In 2009, the company especially saw lower volumes across a variety of sectors including retail, manufacturing, and used vehicle shipments. These decreases, the company says, were attributed to the economy and lower spending