A new Gulf roll on, roll off service, the Nafta Gulf Bridge, should begin criss-crossing the Gulf of Mexico between Mobile, Ala. and Veracruz, Mexico in November.

“We are in final discussions,” said Jimmy Lyons, executive director and CEO of the Alabama State Port Authority. “We are very excited. It’s a concept I’ve believed in for many years. We just needed the right party with the right financial wherewithal.” The service is a short sea alternative to trucking into Mexico, he said.

Two 14,100-dwt newbuilding ro-ro vessels have been long-term chartered for the service, according to operator Nafta Gulf Express. The first vessel will make its maiden voyage from a South Korean shipyard in South Korea and begin twice-weekly cross-Gulf service in both directions in November. The second vessel will join the service in January 2011 to provide three sailings per week, according to CEO Haruo Kano.

NGE plans to add two additional vessels in 2011 and provide Monday through Saturday service in each direction. Eventually, there will be daily ferry departures just as there are in the Baltic, the English Channel or the Mediterranean, Lyons said.

The service is designed for the transport of trailer vans of up to 53 feet but can handle other rolling stock. A single vessel is equivalent to the capacity of 200 53-foot trailer transports and the cross-Gulf route saves an average of 1,300 miles, Kano said. The distance between the ports is 800 nautical miles.

Mobile has two existing ro-ro ramps and will park trucks and rolling stock in space that was used to store containers before the Mobile Container Terminal was built. Lyons said he expects the service’s cargo mix to include packaged and semi-finished food products, auto parts and bagged chemicals both directions, frozen chicken southbound and produce northbound. The service should attract “higher value, time-sensitive goods,” he said.

Source: Breakbulk