New Trends in Port Planning and Development - PART 3: Coastal Shipping of Containers and Trailers in the U.S.

摘要

The prospects of the present system of the U.S. coastal shipping, based on Lo/Lo barges calling at existing container terminals, are limited, mainly because of competition by rail services. For a coastal system to thrive in the U.S., the system should be based on faster Ro/Ro vessels, operated by small-size crews, switched at each port of call. The system should use dedicated, low-cost, Ro/Ro terminals, handling domestic and Customs-cleared cargo. The coastal services should encompass Canada, U.S. and Mexico, the three members of NAFTA. The system should provide a rail-like level-of-service, but at a lower cost. The overall thrust of the envisioned coastal system is to create a new water transport system; a system that competes and complements existing water and land transport systems - but does not serve as an extension of them, as the present system does.