Horizon Charters New Ships

Horizon Lines, Inc. announced it reached an agreement in principle to charter five new U.S. flag, foreign built vessels for 12 year terms from Ship Finance International Limited. The five vessels will be of a proven, international design and will each carry 2,800 twenty-foot equivalent containers and have 23-knot service speed. The five new vessels will be deployed in Horizon Lines' weekly service linking the U.S. West Coast with Guam and Asia, upgrading the current "TP1" service that is being served with five Jones Act-qualified vessels today. The Jones Act covers ocean cargo services to and from Puerto Rico, Hawaii and Alaska, as well as cargo moving between other U.S. origin and destination ports, ensuring those cargoes are carried on U.S.-flag, U.S.-built and U.S.-manned vessels. Charles G. (Chuck) Raymond, Horizon Lines' CEO and President, said, "As we embark on our fleet enhancement strategy, this is a proud and historic day for Horizon Lines." "The enhanced service will provide us with additional space and faster transit time between the U.S. West Coast and Guam, as well as the return voyage from Asia to the U.S. West Coast." Redeploying the carrier's Jones Act vessels from the TP1 service to Hawaii and Puerto Rico will provide additional capacity and service scope to better meet the future needs of Horizon Lines' customers well into the future. The introduction of this new tonnage also allows the carrier's Jones Act vessels to be used as reserve capacity to meet seasonal and dry-dock needs, as well as to respond to potential new opportunities such as coastwise container services.