Santa Maria Shipowning & Trading, based in Santa Rosa, California, is looking to purchase or lease a 15 or more acre industrial site with 600 feet of waterfront property and a minimum shoreline depth of 15 feet. The site will be used to build and launch a fleet of fuel-efficient, ocean-going container ships as part of the proposed Marine Highway Initiative (MHI) that will remove 20,000 daily truckloads off U.S. highways, transferring the cargo onto 66 new American-built ships. The proposal also calls for cargo-handling financing for new ports and terminals as well as creating 2,000 jobs for mariners. The site must be located within the Continental United States, Alaska or Hawaii and be available for immediate use for steel fabrication and ship construction.