U.S./Mexico ro/ro link starts in November

U.S./Mexico ro/ro link starts in November    A new short sea roll-on/roll-off service is to start between Mobile, Ala., and Veracruz, Mexico, in mid-November.
   NAFTA Gulf Bridge said it would start with a single ro/ro ship and add a second ship in early 2011. Combined, the two ships would offer three sailings per week, carrying up to 225 53-foot trailers or a combination of ro/ro cargoes with each sailing.
   The company said the service would shift over-the-road freight hauls between Mexico and the U.S. markets, effectively saving trucking companies an estimated 2,500 miles per shipment.
   'This new ferry service is the equivalent to having a congestion-free straight interstate highway linking Mobile with southern and central Mexico, becoming the perfect alternative to the land border crossings,' said Haruo Kano, chief executive of NAFTA Gulf Bridge.
   The distance from Mobile to Mexico City is about 1,550 miles compared to 900 miles by sea from Mobile to Veracruz, plus the additional 250 miles between Mexico City and Veracruz. The NAFTA Gulf Bridge service would also reduce transit time from origin to end user.
   The port authority said the service will call its Pier 8 Ro/Ro terminal in Mobile. Norton Lilly International has been selected as the general agent for the vessels.
   'This service will provide shippers in both Mexico and the Southeast and Eastern U.S. more efficient and cost-effective freight options while reducing fuel consumption and congestion at the border crossing and U.S. highways,' said Jimmy Lyons, director and chief executive for the Alabama State Port Authority.
   International Shipholding Corp.’s Central Gulf Railway subsidiary operates a rail car ferry between Mobile and Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, about 130 miles southeast of Veracruz.