4 American Journal of Transportation American Journal of Transportation ajot.com Communication is key to handling supply chain disruptions Mike Troy II, CEO of Troy Container Line, a Red Bank, New Jersey– based NVO has witnessed a lot of disruptions to the supply chain. And 2026 is no different with tariffs and geo-political upheaval in the Middle East. But from Troy’s vantage point the key to riding out the storm is communication. By George Lauriat, AJOT Over this decade, disruptions to the global supply chain have become so frequent and varied that importers and exporters have devel- oped a logistics version of trigger finger in reacting to the latest challenges such as tariffs and the conflict between the US and Iran. In a recent interview with AJOT, Michael Troy II, CEO of the Red Bank, New Jersey– based Troy Container Line, a neutral NVO (Non-Vessel Owning Common Carrier), remarked about the seemingly endless string of supply chain disruptions, “I always say that really since the Hanjin Bank- ruptcy [in 2016] there always been one [disruption], whether it is the Suez Canal being blocked [Containership Ever Given Suez Canal grounding March 2021], COVID pan- demic, port strikes, tariffs - there’s been dif- ferent things in the market to make it swing extremely up or down.” And Troy being an NVO has a unique van- tage point from which to view these shipping market swings. That’s because the NVO’s role is that of an intermediary, buying slots from the steamship lines and selling space to freight forwarders. Thus, the NVO’s primary custom- er-base comes through the freight forwarder side of the business. But it is also heavily engaged with shippers and ocean carriers and is in some ways can be the connective nerves in shipments flowing through the supply chain. 2026 Market Conditions It’s been an uncertain market since the beginning of 2026 for shippers and not likely to improve. And shippers have to pull the trigger on finding solutions to the logistics problems that seemingly pop up out of nowhere. As Troy notes, “Shippers are all reacting to what they’re given …. You have a lot of ports that look like options until everyone in the world is sending their freight in that direction. And then the con- gestion starts, and the costs go up and then it’s no longer an option. So, I think the shippers are trying to keep up with whether it’s differ- ent ports in Saudi Arabia, whether it’s through India points — [they’re] wait- ing on the carriers to tell them what the options are.” And in many cases NVOs like Troy Container Line are the conduits to the carriers for the information that enables the shippers to make those decisions, and to do it in an expedited fashion. Communication: Evolving Role of the NVO The rapid-fire challenges of the supply chain are also changing the role of the NVO. The NVO now has to be ready for the unfore- seen events — to strategically plan for what might happen to enable the quick communica- tion and an off-the-shelf solution to be avail- able at a moment’s notice. This means already having the relationships in place to support the solution. For example, “A lot of the freight for- warding community might rely on one carrier 90% of the time, but in situations like these, you might need to be able to flex to four or five different options, depending on what dif- ferent ocean carriers are doing. Some carriers suspended services for the region completely, others will give you options through India or Saudi Arabia or other points. So, if our ship- per clients don’t have any relationships with any other carrier besides one or two, that’s where we can fill in that need to give them the options that they have the current setup with,” Troy said. Adding, “So, the NVO role is defi- nitely one of communication. [And providing] flexibility, whether that’s from one carrier (KEY – continued on page 12) Mike Troy II, CEO Troy Container Line New England ports making headway New England’s ports have encountered head- winds from tariffs and regulatory issues but are making solid headway in 2026 By George Lauriat, AJOT (HEADWAY – continued on page 10) Maine Ports — Projects Underway Chelsea Pettengill, Exec- utive Director of the Maine Port Authority (MPA), notes there is a lot of work going on at the Pine Tree State’s ports — especially the Port of Portland, Maine — Maine’s only container terminal with a strong reefer business, pro- vided by Eimskip’s weekly ship call. The Port of Portland’s International Marine Ter- minal (IMT), as Pettengill explains, the original proj- ect plan was to add reefer racks that would bring the total up to store around 420 reefers. But the project was “significantly over budget” as material costs have risen. The project’s initial price tag was $17.8 million with the Federal government picking up around $14.3 million. To get the project back within budget, the MPA went to MARAD to “de-scope” the amount of reefer plugs neces- sary. Recently MARAD gave a thumbs up to the revised reefer plug proposal. Under the new design, the plan is to add another 175 plugs to the current 150 plugs.” Gylfi Sigfússon, CEO of Eimskip USA, remarked that Eimskip’s weekly Green Line service to Portland had a good year in 2025 despite the headwinds, “The year began with strong momen- tum and despite evolving trade conditions and tariff impacts later in the year, we achieved overall volume growth of approximately 3%. This result reflects the resilience of our service and customer base.” For 2026, Sigfússon said, “We always have some challenges in the beginning of the year, but March showed strong volume and what we have seen into April is very prom- ising. Overall, we are on a similar level as last year, but last year same time we were not affected by tariff. “ Although Eimskip is the operator of Green Line and its three-ship weekly calls, Eimskip is also the terminal operator of IMT and Sigfússon is looking to bring in additional third- party calls. “We’ve been actively promoting the port and expanding the range of services we can offer. One area of focus this year has been attracting barge vessels, and we’ve made good prog- ress on that front. If every- thing goes according to plan, we’re hopeful to see several of these vessels calling this year, which would be a strong step forward for us.” Sigfús- son added that “At the same time, we continue to promote both the port and our cold storage capabilities, posi- tioning them as an efficient option for handling a variety of commodities. Whether its imports being discharged or exports being loaded, we’re working to establish the port as a reliable and flexible hub for our customers.” Pettengill says Maine’s ports have other projects in the works. For example, Pet- tengill said, “Maine DOT successfully received a plan- ning grant under the Clean Ports Program. So, they received $1 million award to study electrification in Maine’s big three ports. So, Portland, Searsport, Eastport, and then they’re taking a look at one of the smaller cruise ports in Rockland. And what they’re doing in Portland, on the eastern waterfront, [is] they’re looking into shore power for cruise ships.” Pettengill also noted that Searsport is exploring cargo and that “Eastport’s had a big uptick in cruise ships… like 300% plus growth for that for them.” Additionally, Rock- land is looking to [adding] a smaller cruise line like ACL (American Cruise Line).
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