Mainland Distribution Systems News

Clayton Cook's article on the U.S. shipbuilding market was a thoughtful review, as one would expect from such a knowledgeable source whose contribution and commitment to the marine sector is well known. His review of the non-contiguous liner trades characterized the Puerto Rico fleet as "antique," and accurate description of the self-propelled vessels serving the trade. That section, however, did not mention the tug/barges now serving the Puerto Rico lane. Today the majority of the marine freight moving between the mainland and Puerto Rico moves on tug/barge systems. These tug/barge systems are newer than the self-propelled vessels. In our own case, the weighed average age of our fleet is some six years or one-fifth that of the self-propelled vessels in the trade.