Hawai'i shippers upgrade terminals
Advertiser Staff
In Hawai'i, where 98 percent of all imported goods come through the state's ports, things are going more smoothly than at many ports and harbors on the Mainland.
Technological upgrades are being made to terminals, and union disruptions, by and large, have not occurred.
Matson Navigation Co., the largest shipping company in Hawai'i, began a $31.5 million improvement project on its Sand Island terminal last year and expects to complete work by the end of the summer.
Technology being installed as part of the project includes a chassis system that will convert the terminal from a straddle carrier operation, which requires use of a modified crane-type of vehicle, to a
partial-wheeled operation. The switch reduces waiting time for truck drivers by allowing them to find and load or unload cargo unassisted. Already the terminal uses automated equipment identification to speed up operations.
"Our goal is to make our terminal the most efficient for similar-sized terminals in the U.S.," said Matson spokesman Jeff Hull.
Other objectives for the project are to improve service to customers and truckers and accommodate projected growth through 2020. The improvements are not expected to affect employment at Matson, Hull said.
Matson's 108-acre terminal handles 350,000 moves of cargo in and out of ships each year. Unlike West Coast operations, which take an average of 76 hours to load and unload a boat, Matson said its turnaround is within 31 hours.
The key to smooth operations in Hawai'i is good relations between shipping companies and the local unit of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Hull said.
The ILWU was able to work with Matson in its improvements to ensure safety and job retention for its members would be optimal, said Tyrone Tahara, Honolulu longshore business agent for the ILWU.
"Unions in Hawai'i have always worked with companies to iron things out," Tahara said.
So far, the two major shipping companies — Matson and CSX Lines — have cooperated with the unions so there have been no layoffs.
Because the "mouth of the harbor feeds the mouth of the state," the "effort that the companies and unions make is basically for the betterment of the public," he said.
In October 1999, ILWU members voted to strike if contract negotiations to gain parity with West Coast union workers' pay fell through. A new contract was reached a week after the original contract was terminated, averting a strike.
Though Hawai'i shippers do not have the same traffic concerns as West Coast shippers, they still battle a shortage of space. With 149 acres of state land between the two largest shipping companies, Ho-
olulu Harbor is among the top 10 handling ports in the United States.
There are 10 commercial harbors in the state with Honolulu Harbor as the dominant port. In 1998, the Coast Guard reported 259,942 containers went through Honolulu Harbor.
Of required goods in Hawai'i, 80 percent are imported and 98 percent of those are shipped via water, according to the Department of Transportation Harbors Division. In 1992, a third of all goods and services produced in Hawai'i went through commercial harbors and a third of tourist expenditures were on imported goods.
CSX officials could not be reached for comment.
