base. As most of us will recall, sever- al failed attempts have been made with the most recent one being the Port of Hamilton initiative through its C3 Company. Similarly to the Port of Cleveland, the Port of Hamilton committed to a charter, in their case a McKeil tug and barge combination, to subsidize the start-up utilization, and operate a container service between Hamilton and Montreal for onwards transfer to the liner vessels calling at the Port of Montreal. Un- fortunately the C3 venture was not successful, there were equipment issues and moreover demand was lack luster, which ultimately, after the Port of Hamilton footed a hefty bill, resulted in the shut down of the service. So what is different with the Port


of Cleveland Service? For one, Cleveland has opted to go with an international shipping company that operates modern Seaway fitted ves- sels. These vessels operate directly to ports in Europe thus avoiding transshipment and reducing over- all shipping times. Moreover, the Spliethoff vessels are multi- pur- pose, which allows for a multitude of cargoes to be shipped. The ves- sels can transport bulk, break-bulk, containers and project cargoes thus increasing their intake ability in dif- ferent markets and reducing their utilization risk. Lastly the big issue of seasonality is tackled by diverting cargo to existing Spliethoff services already calling at East Coast ports during the wintertime when the Seaway shuts down. This cargo is


then transshipped via rail or truck to Cleveland allowing for a seemingly seamless service maintaining the same pricing even in winter. William Friedman, president &


CEO of the Port of Cleveland, said that the service will be the fastest and greenest route between Europe and North America’s heartland, al- lowing regional companies to ship their goods up to four days faster than using water, rail, and truck routes via the U.S. East Coast ports. “This service will offer Ohio export- ers a faster, more cost-effective and greener solution to get their goods to global markets,” Friedman said. “The Cleveland-Europe Express can handle roughly 10-15% of Ohio’s trade with Europe.”


Photo: Port of Cleveland 8


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