Savage plans Oakland-Stockton container barge service

   The Port of Stockton said it has hired Savage Companies to operate a barge service to move containers between the Port of Stockton and Port of Oakland.
   Salt Lake City-based Savage will provide management, marketing, logistics and operating services for the project. Operations are slated to begin during the first quarter of 2012.
   In February 2010, the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $30 million to the ports of Oakland, Stockton and West Sacramento to develop the infrastructure necessary to establish the service.
   Stockton received $13 million to purchase two 140-ton mobile harbor cranes, and also to make the necessary improvements at the port to support the project. The cranes are expected to be delivered in January. In addition to the cranes, Stockton said it has purchased two barges that are scheduled to undergo modifications that will allow them to handle containers. The modifications are scheduled to be completed early in the first quarter of 2012.
   The port and Savage said moving containers along the “M-580 Marine Highway” will help to reduce congestion along the interstate highways I-580 and I-5 and improve air quality and safety. They estimate 1,600 containers per day move between the Port of Oakland and Stockton, causing I-580 to be one of the most congested highways in the California.
   Moving containers by barge will also allow exporters to load containers more heavily then those that move over the road, reducing the number of containers required.
   More details about the short-sea shipping project can be found in the June issue of American Shipper.