News

2017 Maritime Industry “Good Scout” Award Recipient
Bruce Fenimore

Bruce A. Fenimore is a successful transportation executive with more than 40 years of experience in the ocean freight and logistics industry.

The new yard will have room for 4,000 chassis. The revitalization of a chassis depot with two prominent providers is poised to enhance the Port of New York and New Jersey’s ongoing effort to ensure there is enough available equipment to cope with the increasingly frequent arrival of mega-ships. The takeover by Columbia Container Services of […]

Columbia Group announces the opening of the new Elizabeth Chassis Depot (ECD). The depot will be opened October 30th. Please be advised that as of Monday, October 30th Columbia Container Services will be operating the new Elizabeth Chassis Depot (ECD) located at 1510 S. Bay Ave, Elizabeth, New Jersey, formally known as the Maher Chassis […]

Columbia Coastal Transportation is hoping that its new barge, Columbia Freedom, will be in demand as bigger vessels arrive on the East Coast. Read the full story here…

A new chassis depot near the Port of New York and New Jersey’s GCT-Bayonne terminal is a step toward improving chassis availability in the East Coast’s largest port, TRAC Intermodal CEO Keith Lovetro said. Read More

According to Drewry Maritime Research, neither A.P. Moller–Maersk or CMA CGM would usually risk their balance sheets by buying NOL at a time when container shipping is expected to struggle for the next three years. The announcement last week by Neptune Orient Lines that it is in… Read the complete article…

Challenge:
It is not always “smooth sailing” for cargo ships. Bad storms, heavy seas, and sometimes even shipboard fires can occur. Such was the case when an engine room fire broke out in a container ship, forcing it to make an emergency docking at the Port Tampa Bay.

The entire vessel had to be discharged immediately, and the shipping line scrambled to explore truck, rail and any other transportation means to move their freight to its final destination.

Ultimately, the carrier was left with 77 super-heavy loads that the rail lines rejected and trucks could not legally handle on the highways.

Actions
The shipping line then called Columbia Coastal Transport (CCT) to possibly assist with a barge to move the over-weight containers. The logistics arm of CCT, working in tandem with the steamship line, was able to identify even more freight to add to the barge so that the carrier would benefit from improved efficiencies.

In total, the barge was able to move over 320 containers out of the Port Tampa Bay. First, a voyage to New Orleans , then back to Tampa Bay where an additional containers were loaded and delivered to the Port of Houston.

Results
CCT, in conjunction with the shipping line, was able to provide a swift and efficient solution to the time sensitive cargo handling needs of the shipping line. Columbia’s ability to handle multiple containers on their barges, as well as over-weight units, gives Columbia a distinct advantage when significant volumes of containers need to be relocated to other ports.

At the same time, with CCT’s support and expertise, the steamship line was able to successfully deliver its cargo to waiting customers at two different ports, without delay.

Columbia Coastal Transport was recently covered in the December / January 2013 issue of Professional Mariner. The article shows how container barge services can vastly reduce damage to the highway infrastructure and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Columbia Container Services has relocated the North Avenue facility to a new location on Polaris Street, right around the corner from our closed North Avenue location.

All pertinent contact information remains the same. The hours of operation are from 0700-1600 weekdays.