Garrett Weston Weston 1 Dr. Donna Nincic GMA 105 October 25, 2011 Short Sea Shipping As roads become more congested and trade increases, United States’ ports and businesses begin to look for alternative forms of transportation in order to move cargo off of the roads and onto the water. One solution to this issue is the implication of Short Sea Shipping. Short Sea Shipping is the act of shipping intercontinentally, using waterways such as rivers and inlets to transport people and goods from one destination to another without crossing over oceans. An example of this would be using the Mississippi River as a trade route to transport goods from Canada to the Gulf Coast. Though Short Sea Shipping has been around for centuries, today’s over-congestion of North American highway trade and travel has created a greater demand for this method of transportation. It has already proven to be a successful mean of shipping and is currently at the forefront of Europe’s transportation system. The use of this type of shipping has many benefits, including: the potential to alleviate air pollution, reduce accidents and congestion on our freeways, while also saving the shipping companies money. International trade between Asia and the United States’ West Coast ports, transiting through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, is expected to double in volume in the next fifteen years (ESCAP 2010). These greater volumes of commercial traffic are adding to congestion and environmental pressures on landside transportation systems, particularly those associated with the major urban regions on the West Coast. Short Sea Shipping could be considered as a possible strategy for alleviating landside congestion from commercial traffic in Weston 2 urban areas. Short Sea Shipping is a viable strategy within a regional port system. Focusing on specific commodities and goods, a number of shipments could be shifted to Short Sea Shipping movements. Specific opportunities in Southern California are found with the re-directing of empty container flows to secondary ports. The use of Roll-On/Roll-Off vessels would be best suited for this type of port operation (Le-Griffin 2006). Roll-On/Roll-Off vessels are ships that have built-in ramps that allow the cargo to be efficiently "rolled on" and "rolled off" of the vessel when in port. Due to the abundance of rivers and inland waterways along the East and Gulf coasts, these would be more likely locations for Short Sea Shipping transportation in the United States. The Intracoastal Waterway is a three-thousand mile long system of rivers, inlets, bays, and canals that run along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts that could be used for Short Sea Shipping. This system of waterways provides a navigable route from New Jersey to Brownsville, Texas without many of the hazards of travel on the open sea (Sullivan 2005). The Intracoastal Waterway has a large amount of commercial activity: barges haul petroleum, petroleum products, food, perishable items, building materials, and manufactured goods. The waterway is often used when the ocean is too rough to travel on. The numerous inland waterways that connect the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico with the Intracoastal Waterway make this the most feasible route for Short Sea Shipping in the United States. United States’ domestic freight volume is projected to increase more than sixty-five percent from 1998 to 2020 and international freight levels are expected to rise even more rapidly (U.S. Census Bureau 2010). At this rate, the cost of putting off the restoration of the United States’ aging transportation and shipping infrastructure could be extremely detrimental to our economy. Efficient transportation networks are key elements for economic growth, and the financial benefits of moving our Weston 3 shipping to sea-based transportation are aplenty. Ships are the most energy efficient mode of transportation, in contrast to trucks, which are the least efficient. A single four-thousand Dead-Weight-Ton vessel can accommodate as much cargo as one-hundred to two-hundred semi-trucks (Nincic 2011). This can be translated as a significant savings in time and a savings in fuel costs for shipping companies. The Maritime Administration (2002 MARAD) estimates that two-hundred and twenty-eight double-stacked rail cars which consume three-hundred barrels of oil, and four-hundred and fifty-six trucks which consume six-hundred and forty-five barrels of oil are needed to transport the equivalent capacity of cargo as one traditional barge that consumes seventy-five barrels of oil. This fuel efficiency makes Short Sea Shipping much more desirable to companies because of the reduced fuel cost. However, some may argue that Short Sea Shipping is, in fact, less efficient because of the longer transit times. It should be noted that Short Sea Shipping becomes an increasingly attractive option as transportation distances increase. This is due to average fixed costs being lower per ton-mile. Shippers could consider using Short Sea Shipping for long distances and continue to use trucks for shorter hauls. This decrease in trucking isn’t only cost effective, but ecofriendly as well. Petroleum-based automobiles, such as trucks, are responsible for much of the air pollution today. The gaseous particles emitted from the trucks have had numerous negative impacts on human health and the environment. Freight transportation accounts for approximately nine percent of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. More specifically, sixty percent of these emissions are attributed to truck transportation. A typical diesel-powered eighteen-wheeler can emit as much nitrogen oxide as about one-hundred and fifty passenger cars Weston 4 (Nylund 2005). According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, even the newest and most efficient semi trucks contribute significant amounts of air pollution, while older trucks are an even bigger threat. As these trucks burn diesel fuel, they release a variety of contaminants into the air, leading to smog and air pollution (U.S. Energy Information Administration). Consisting of fine metal particles, semi truck exhaust poses a serious threat to human health once it reaches the air. Additional toxins found in semi truck exhaust reduce air quality even further, leading to health problems in people and animals. The Union of Concerned Scientists, states that the carbon monoxide emissions from the trucks can block oxygen from reaching the brain or heart, while the sulfur emissions impact the respiratory system, particularly in asthma patients. Although strict limitations on emissions of various pollutants from automobiles have been in place in the United States since the 1970’s, trucks and other large transport vehicles have been allowed to emit as much as five times as much pollution per mile (UCS 2010). Sea transportation has proven to be the most environmentally friendly mode of transportation in terms of fuel emissions. Short Sea Shipping is a much cleaner transportation mode than truck and rail in both air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide. The International Maritime Organization has even proposed stricter regulations for air pollutant emissions for ships, in order to make shipping an even more environmentally friendly industry. Short Sea Shipping isn’t only environmentally friendly but it is also the perfect way to lessen highway and port traffic. All of our current modes of transportation are either congested or will become congested in the near future. The congestion of the United States’ saltwater ports is Weston 5 so atrocious that inland ports are being built to help manage the traffic. Major ports are beginning to employ smaller ports to act as hub ports in order to relieve the congestion. A solution to the highway and port congestion problem could be a change in transportation patterns. By shifting freight from highways to inland and coastal waterways, Short Sea Shipping will reduce much of the congestion experienced along major roadways by transferring the majority of trucking freight to coastal barges. These barges will not only move the transportation off of the roads, but because they can accommodate a much larger load than trucks, will also lessen the amount of vehicles needed to transport the goods. This new system of Short Sea Shipping must be reliant on developing new technologies in order to ensure that the infrastructure is constantly being updated and improved. The development of new, and refining existing, technologies will be key to successfully advancing Short Sea Shipping and addressing our transportation challenges (Perakis 2008). Trucks that are delivering their cargo must compete with cars for space on the roads, not only is this congestion costly, but it is dangerous as well. In 2010, over five-hundred thousand large trucks and commercial vehicles were involved in accidents, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Of these five-hundred thousand accidents, five-thousand of them resulted in death. Road accidents cause costs to society, such as medical costs, emergency response costs, and material damages (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 2010). Moving this large amount of truck freight to Short Sea Shipping will abate these costs and, in theory, could result in lower taxes. With trade expecting to increase in future years, we can predict that more large trucks will be occupying our roads unless we find a way to lessen the amount of trucks needed transport cargo from point A to point B. Sea transportation is the safest mode in terms of fatalities and injuries because there is Weston 6 currently so little traffic on our waterways. Another reason that there are so few accidents in waterway transportation is because the cruising speed for freight-liners is much slower, in comparison to highway travel. This means that if something goes wrong on-board the vessel, the captain and crew have more time to efficiently assess and suppress the issue. For Europe, maritime transport has been a huge part of economic development and prosperity. Europe is surrounded by seas and oceans: the Atlantic Ocean, the Arctic Ocean, the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Black Sea. Because of its ideal geographical location, Europe is still very dependent on the maritime transport. Almost ninety percent of external European freight trade is seaborne and Short Sea Shipping represents forty percent of the trade within Europe. On the whole, nearly two-billion tons of freight are loaded and unloaded in European ports each year. The maritime transport sector provides jobs to about three-million people in the European Union. This includes jobs in ports, fisheries, shipbuilding, and other related fields (Commission of the European Communities 2007). Overall, maritime industries are an important source of employment and income for the European economy. The European Commission's objective is to protect Europe with very strict standards that prevent sub-standard shipping, while reducing the risk of serious maritime accidents and environmental impacts of maritime transport. The Commission has also been working actively against piracy and terrorism threats. Although this form of trade is being effectively utilized in Europe today, because of unnecessary government regulation and outdated tax policy, Short Sea Shipping has yet to take hold in the United States and remains in its stages of inception. Today, there is a real concern that our nation's transportation system is restraining Weston 7 economic growth. The Federal Government, through the Maritime Administration, has been encouraging our port and shipping infrastructure to adopt Short Sea Shipping as a major form of freight transportation. Unfortunately, one significant hindrance to Short Sea Shipping is the imposition of the Harbor Maintenance Tax. In the mid-1980's, Congress needed a way to raise money for port upkeep. After years of debate, Congress found a relatively reasonable solution: a 0.04% tax was to be collected as a duty on all imports and exports. There was a problem with this though; the Constitution states that "no tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State." Initially, the Harbor Maintenance Tax escaped any serious notice, funds were raised and harbors were improved. But in 1990 Congress tripled the tax and revenues skyrocketed. Taxpayers and users of ports began to take notice, consulted lawyers and began filing lawsuits in the Court of International Trade in New York City. This set the stage for the appeal to the Supreme Court, which declared the tax on exports as unconstitutional. The Harbor Maintenance Tax currently includes the taxing of imports and domestic cargo as well as on foreign trade zone activity and cruise passenger tickets (American Association of Port Authorities 2011). In turn, this tax acts as a disincentive to move trucks and their freight by water. As a result, the tax ultimately encourages greater highway congestion, fuel consumption, fiscal inefficiency, and air pollution. The American Maritime Congress has been working with the Maritime Administration and Congress to address this issue and remove all of the barriers in the way of building an effective Short Sea trade system in the United States. By reducing the pressure on existing infrastructure, Short Sea Shipping can reduce the need to build new shore-side infrastructure and reduce maintenance costs of existing facilities. The growth in international trade has led to a rapid expansion in shipping traffic to the United Weston 8 States. The Maritime Administration sees Short Sea Shipping as a way to accommodate increased container volume and has begun identifying special projects for expanding it. There are a multitude of positive implications that are associated with the expansion of Short Sea Shipping in the United States. However, further development in Short Sea Shipping is challenged by certain factors. There is a need to modernize and expand on current facilities in order to handle larger vessels and increased Short Sea Shipping cargo volumes. Sufficient governmental investment and funding towards these facilities would be a major help in encouraging Short Sea trade. However, seeking the necessary funding might be difficult considering the current economic condition and strained national budget. Nevertheless, it is imperative that Congress sees past the initial expenditure and focuses on the long-term environmental and economic benefits that Short Sea Shipping can generate. As a result of the growing pro-environmental movement and the realization that something must be done about our current economic status, the prospects of Short Sea Shipping in the United States are promising. Its many advantages outweigh and outnumber the barriers that are hindering its growth. Short Sea Shipping offers many benefits to the transportation industry, society, the national economy, and the environment, while also being an efficient, reliable, and environmentally friendly option for relieving highway congestion and increasing the standard of the United States’ transportation network.

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