Tote pulls the plug on Hawaii service plans and Philly Shipyard boxship order
Tote Maritime is not moving ahead with plans for four newbuild containerships because it is suspending plans for a new service between Hawaii and the US mainland.
Princeton, New Jersey-headquartered Tote is holding fire on the Hawaii service because necessary infrastructure upgrades make the original deadline unfeasible.
There was a letter of intent (LOI) between Tote and Philly Shipyard in Philadelphia on the building of up to four custom-built vessels for the Jones Act-compliant Hawaii trade.
But a technical review of Piers 1 and 2 in Honolulu Harbour gave Tote pause because of the scope of improvements needed, and the company announced it will not renew its LOI with Philly Shipyard when it expires on Wednesday (January 31).
Under the LOI, Tote wanted two 3,700 teu ships built, with options for two more, completion years for each pair being 2020 and 2021.
Tote, which specializes in Jones Act routes from the US mainland to Puerto Rico and Alaska, says it is still open to a new plan for access to Honolulu deep-water terminal.