New barge service will link New York and Portland, Maine

New barge service will link New York and Portland, Maine Columbia Coastal Transport will start a new container barge service between New York and Portland, Maine, starting Aug. 19.
   The service will be every two weeks initially, and the frequency may be increased if support for the service grows.
   Bruce Fenimore, president and chief executive of Columbia Group said the service would enable steamship lines to offer through bills of lading to and from Portland, and give northern New England importers and exporters a “greener” alternative to move multiple containers in either direction.
   “We believe that key importers and exporters in northern Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and southern Canada will benefit from Columbia Coastal’s all-water alternative for freight movement,” said Kevin Mack, vice president of business development at Columbia. “This new service presents a great opportunity for shippers to avoid terminal congestion, over-the-road weight restrictions and the shortage of truck power that often impedes cargo flow.”
   The company plans to utilize the Columbia Baltimore, a 690-TEU barge. Its initial call will be in Portland on Aug. 19 and the barge will arrive in the Port of New York and New Jersey on Aug. 21.
   Columbia Coastal Transport operates a fleet of 10 container barges in regularly scheduled services linking eight ports on the U.S. Atlantic seaboard, and serves Freeport and Cuba on demand. The barges range in capacities from 450 to 912 TEUs, and can accommodate 20-, 40- and 45-foot containers, including refrigerated units.