FOREST LINES MAKES CHANGE TO TRANSATLANTIC SERVICE

FOREST LINES MAKES CHANGE TO TRANSATLANTIC SERVICE    Forest Lines has consolidated its U.K./Europe agency representation under Antwerp-based Herfurth & Co. to improve its coverage of the market, said the liner carrier’s vice president and general manager James M. Baldwin Jr.
   Forest Lines operates two of the last three LASH (lighter aboard ship) vessels in the liner trades owned by its parent International Shipholding Corp. The two 850-foot-long Forest Lines ships, “Rhine Forest” and “Hickory,” can transport more than 80 cargo barges per voyage. These ships call every 17 days at their hub ports in Rotterdam, Charleston and New Orleans.
   Forest Lines’ shipments to Europe include forest products, such as linerboard and wood pulp, and rice. European steel products fill most of the capacity back to the United States.
   International Shipholding’s third LASH ship, “Atlantic Forest,” was recently upgraded to U.S.-flag operations and shifted into its Waterman Steamship subsidiary to operate under the U.S. government’s Maritime Security Program.
   International Shipholding considering replacement tonnage for its aging LASH ships. “We are pleased with the progress of our naval architects and marine engineers in identifying suitable replacement tonnage, with the goal of inserting it into the Forest Lines’ service by 2008,” Baldwin said.
   Baldwin said the maintenance program for the company’s 700 LASH barges is ongoing.