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Aloha Marine Lines recently transported two large tour boats for the Pacific Whale Foundation. Celebrations sailed from Seattle followed by Ocean Legacy. The boats were craned off the barge at Barber's Point Harbor on Oahu. The larger boat is 80 feet long, 18 feet high and weighs 118,000 pounds.

"The boats were so large we hired vendors to assist with the lift and launch into the water," explains Joan Nacino, Pricing Business Analyst for Aloha Marine Lines. "Intermodal Coordinator Lauren Minckler responded to the initial request to move the boats, and Service Center Manager Zack Anderson and Freight Operations Gerry Bustamante assisted in putting the project together."

Upon arrival in Hawaii, Celebrations was taken to a boat repair yard located near Barber's Point harbor and the Aloha Marine Lines office. Ocean Legacy was launched from Barber's Point using a crane company and divers. Both boats join the Pacific Whale Foundation's fleet on Maui. The Foundation plans to purchase more boats from the same boat builder, Mavrik Marine, located in La Conner, WA.

Lynden is known for providing innovative solutions to its customers. In a new twist on the term 'holding pen,' Lynden created a specially designed rack to hold surfboards for damage-free ocean transit. "There will always be a market for surfboards in Hawaii," explains Los Angeles Service Center Manager James Bisho, "so why not be the leader in providing cutting-edge transportation from the mainland to the islands?"

Lynden handles just about any type of freight imaginable from Los Angeles to Hawaii - from heavy machinery to perishable fruit to solar panels - via both air and ocean, full-container-load (FCL) and less-than-container-load (LCL). Coby Peterson of Marko Foam Products approached Lynden about shipping foam surfboard 'blanks' from LAX to Honolulu knowing they would be stowed in a container, but he didn't expect a special rack designed for just his freight. Lynden's Business Development Manager Maggie Parks couldn't wait to take Peterson's call. "I knew we could help him with this unique product," she says. "We thrive on and excel at requests like this. We are very good at creating solutions and showing nimbleness with how we can handle freight."

Lynden's 40-foot containers are equipped with Kinedyne Kaptive Beam® decking systems that can be adjusted at multiple levels to stack freight in a variety of configurations. The specialized containers are the only ones available in Hawaii and, with containers now in short supply, the 'sea cans' expand Lynden's shipping capacity at a critical time. 

"With the Kaptive Beam® system, we can carry more cargo per container. Customers save time and money and realize increased value with every load," Parks explains. "I am receiving positive feedback from our surfboard customers on this new option for surfboards and blanks. We have taken a collaborative approach, finding better ways of packing and moving the boards."

"Lynden has greatly increased our business on the Hawaiian Islands by providing a reliable and cost-effective shipping method to better serve our customers," says Peterson, Marko's Manager of Business Development and Marketing.

Besides Marko Foam Products, based in Huntington Beach, CA, Lynden is now handling shipping for other California companies including Catch Surf and Pyzel Surfboards. Pyzel, a leading global surfboard manufacturer, is moving full containers of boards and blanks to Honolulu inside Lynden's Kaptive Beam®-configured containers.

Lynden is well-known as one of the largest providers of air freight forwarding between the mainland and Hawaii, but it's now gaining recognition for ocean service with a variety of LCL options. The multi-mode capabilities of choosing barge, steamship or air and mixing the modes to speed up or slow down delivery for changing timelines and budgets is a selling point.

"Our service levels give us multiple layers of experience and options to offer customers," explains Stuart Nakayama, Lynden Vice President of Trade Lane Development. "Ocean LCL has always been a part of our service, but things really took off last year when we added our containers equipped with the Kaptive Beam® system, which allows us to manage our loads more effectively and price competitively. We can mix and match heavy, odd-sized loads, double-stack and handle just about anything - from tall pallets of odd-sized freight like surfboard blanks, to smaller pieces."

With backed up ports, slowed supply chains, and a shortage of containers, ocean shipping has been anything but smooth sailing this year. "The ocean shipping industry is still feeling the effects of the pandemic. It's like a snake trying to eat a rabbit," Nakayama says. "Log jams at port of entry are still occurring and impacting the Southern California market. It used to take four days to get large vessels unloaded, reloaded and leaving the port. Now it takes weeks. In my 33 years in the industry, this is unprecedented. As the experts, we are here to help our customers navigate these sometimes choppy waters and make sure we take care of their logistics needs." 

Despite the current challenges, Lynden employees still manage to pull off wins for customers on a routine basis. Recently Lynden's Los Angeles team worked through a weekend after an urgent shipment arrived after deadline on a Friday night. They knew their customers at a well-known grocer had a division vice president arriving on Monday to inspect the store. The bagged salads had to be on the refrigerated shelf when he arrived. So they flagged the perishable freight, quickly split the cargo, prepared the documents and booked space on the first available flights. The store passed the inspection.

"Whether it's working overtime, creating new ways to protect freight, or offering the latest and best equipment to ship that freight across the Pacific, we are always thinking of our customers," Nakayama says, "even if it means building holding pens for surfboards!" 

Aloha Marine Lines Voyage H0497W, which departed in December last year, carried the heaviest cargo load Aloha Marine Lines has ever transported from Seattle to Hawaii. According to Aloha Marine Lines Seattle Service Center Manager Tom Crescenzi, the Namakani barge was close to its maximum. "We still have a little more tonnage we could get on board, but not much. The barge capacity is 16,850 tons and the sailing carried 13,158 tons of cargo plus the weight of the containers, dunnage, etc." With 691 picks and 1,032 TEU it was an impressive load. Aloha Marine Lines purchased two large barges from Sause Brothers last year that enabled the Hawaii capacity expansion.

The COVID pandemic put a strain on retail businesses this year and that was especially felt during the holiday season. “I don’t think any of our retail customers could’ve prepared for the massive changes brought on by the pandemic,” says Howard Hales, Lynden Logistics Domestic Services Manager in Seattle. “COVID turned the world upside down and retail was hit hard. At the beginning of the shutdown this spring, we were in daily communication with our retailers. They needed to know where their product was along the supply chain and either stop shipments or store products at our warehouses until stores re-opened.”

The pandemic has been an elusive opponent for retail companies. Not knowing when stores could safely re-open, store managers played a waiting game wondering when conditions would improve enough to bring shoppers back into stores. According to Hales, retail companies are typically more than a year out on planning for their sales seasons. A whole supply and sales cycle is set based on shipping season-specific merchandise, and having the stores filled with that particular product in time for back-to-school or Christmas shoppers.

“When COVID hit, retailers were forced to shutter their stores for two to three months, and it broke that sales cycle,” he explains. “By the time they were able to start opening stores, they had merchandise on their shelves that had moved beyond the planned season, and new product was on the way or in their warehouses waiting to be moved to the stores.”

For Lynden’s long-time customers Gap and Old Navy, this overstock was both a dilemma and an opportunity. Their elegant solution made national headlines. Recognizing that the COVID crisis has left many families struggling to buy basic necessities like clothing, Old Navy donated $30 million of new clothing to American families. National and local charities, such as Delivering Good, helped distribute the clothing to those who needed it most. Gap asked Lynden to help coordinate the shipments to its major markets of Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

“That decision created a whole new logistics cycle,” Hales says. “Gap had to source and supply all of their stores with packaging material so the merchandise could be boxed up and moved. They then had to coordinate the pickups with their local delivery providers for final delivery to the local charities.” As Gap’s primary transportation provider for Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, Lynden coordinated store recoveries in the three markets and redelivered more than 400,000 units to local charities. Old Navy and Gap also donated 50,000 reusable masks to Boys & Girls Clubs of America as many have remained open and operational throughout the crisis as a safe place for kids and families in underserved communities.

Lynden performed similar work for other retail customers. “We had two COVID-related shutdowns for TJ Maxx,” says Stuart Nakayama, Director of Strategic Accounts and Hawaii Trade Services in Los Angeles. “Working with our ocean carrier Pasha, we came up with a solution to help them safely store their products through both shutdowns.” Lynden also helped ship personal protective equipment (PPE) to Hawaii and distributed it to the stores there, as well as all Hot Topic clothing stores in Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico upon re-opening of their retail locations.

“The trick was not all stores were opened at the same time, and store hours and availability of store personnel varied,” Nakayama says, “so our Lynden employees had to hold product and get creative on delivery dates and times.”

In addition to apparel, Lynden works with “essential” retailers consisting of restaurants, health and beauty, and grocery stores in national markets. “Service to these customers was, and still is, impacted by airline capacity and delivery networks to some degree,” Nakayama says, “but it’s slowly improving. This year we have seen many changes in our retail markets and shopping patterns. While we can’t predict future change, Lynden can be the constant amid the change for our retail customers.”

Hawaii's animal shelters had been overcrowded since the Wings of Aloha transfer program that provides off-island adoptions was paused due to the COVID pandemic. Air Charter Service, Wings of Rescue, Greater Good Charities and The John R. Peterson Foundation came up with the perfect solution: the largest pet rescue flight in history. But they needed a plane. A big plane. One large enough to carry nearly 600 dogs and cats collected from five shelters across Hawaii.

Enter Lynden Air Cargo and its flight crew. On a Wednesday in late fall, dozens of staff, volunteers, and foster families worked day and night to prepare the animals for the long journey to Seattle where they would receive a second chance in new homes. Dubbed the Paws Across Pacific flight, it took months to coordinate.

"Thomas Howe of Air Charter Service reached out looking for a unique solution to a unique requirement, which we felt was right up our alley," says Dan Marshall, Lynden Air Cargo Charter Manager. "We were able to fly our C-130 aircraft from Oakland, CA to each location to pick up the animals and reduce the loading and unloading that other operations would require by using a spoke/wheel approach. We linked the four locations together and then launched from Hilo direct to Boeing Field in Seattle."

Island by island, kennel by kennel, hundreds of shelter animals made their way into the massive Hercules. Most of the animals were already adopted upon landing in Seattle and around 120 of the cats and dogs continued their journey to shelters in Washington state, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. The flight was covered by national media and provided some heartwarming good news for many people who are overwhelmed by pandemic updates.

"It was a pleasure to be involved in this monumental transport of pets," Dan says. "Our crews reported that the Greater Good team was one of the most organized and efficient groups we have ever encountered. Thomas Howe pulled it all together and ran an excellent operation coordinating between all the groups involved, and we heard positive feedback about Lynden and our flight crew."

Amy Mills, an employee at Seattle Area Feline Rescue, sent a message about the project to Lynden's Facebook page. "I was on the receiving end of this flight. We were a destination shelter for some of the cats," she writes. "When the plane taxied to the hangar and I saw Lynden Air Cargo on the side, it was an added bonus to the day. (Lynden patriarch) Hank Jansen was a neighbor of my grandparents in Lynden, WA. Lynden Transport will always catch my eye and make me smile. Thank you for helping all these pets and the people who work so hard to protect and care for them."

Lynden Air Cargo has transported many animals over the years, including whales, horses, bison and Icelandic ponies.

Alaska Marine Lines (dba Aloha Marine Lines in Hawaii) expanded its fleet with the purchase of two cargo barges, the Kamakani and Namakani, from Oregon based Sause Bros. Sause terminated its Hawaii service in March and Alaska Marine Lines is now serving its customers.

The Kamakani (above) and the Namakani are now the largest of all Alaska Marine Lines vessels – each with a 438-foot overall length and 105 feet of width and a payload of 16,869 tons. "For comparison, our railbarges are 420 feet long and 100 feet wide with a payload of 15,300 tons," explains Tom Crescenzi, Seattle Service Center Manager. The Kamakani was constructed by Gunderson Marine in 2008 and the Namakani in 2016. Both are fitted with 22-foot-high cargo binwalls and an internal ballast system.

"While the initial sailing of the Kamakani on April 18 was definitely the heaviest Hawaii single barge sailing to depart from Terminal 115 in Seattle, she also had the least amount of lashing," Tom says. "Between the walls and the rod lashings we dropped close to 90 percent of the lashing compared to a regular Hawaiian sailing. We still have a number of things to learn and improve on, but Hawaii Barge Master Brad Hughes did a great job on the first round. Everyone has put in a lot of work and, considering the size of this sailing and the short time we've had to handle the switch-over from Sause, everyone really stepped up."

In addition, Aloha Marine Lines moved from Pier 29 in Honolulu to the old Sause Bros. location at Pier 5 Kalaeloa – Barber's Point in Kapolei, HI. "Our new location is much closer to our high-volume customers in the industrial park area of Kapolei which will offer more delivery efficiencies to our Hawaii customers," says Jake Maenpa, Vice President Sales.

Aloha Marine Lines Account Executive Joan Nacino made the cover of Building Industry Hawaii magazine’s March issue. Joan serves as Vice President of the Honolulu Chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC), and she was interviewed about the opportunities and challenges for women in the construction industry.

We are proud of Joan and consider her to be an important part of our Hawaii sales team with the years of experience, knowledge and dedication she brings each day. 

Lynden Logistics has served the Hawaiian Islands for more than 30 years and provided service to Guam for more than 20 years. For 2018, Lynden has enhanced its customer offerings in both locations by adding Less-than-Container-Load (LCL) ocean service between Los Angeles and Guam and LCL barge service between Seattle and Honolulu via Aloha Marine Lines.

"The new service provides a lower-cost alternative to traditional steamship line service," explains Charlie Ogle, Western Regional Sales Manager. "We offer twice monthly sailings to Oahu with connections to the neighboring islands." With this added service Lynden continues to offer our full menu of value-added capabilities like EZ Commerce, multimodal shipping options, Dynamic Routing, time-specific deliveries, and warehousing. To find out more about our services, please visit our website www.lynden.com/logistics or email lafmtg@lynden.com.

Lynden supports Ward Village construction and other projects

Lynden Logistics caught the wave—and made sure the wave caught the flight from London to Honolulu. A 30-foot-long custom desk designed to resemble undulating water, the 'wave' is one of countless items Lynden has shipped to Honolulu for the construction of Ward Village, a 60-acre master-planned community boasting 4,000 residences and more than a million feet of shops, restaurants and entertainment venues.

"We were contracted to provide furniture, fixtures and equipment for all the public space for Ward Village, including the penthouses and the pool area," explains Randy Gentz, President of Hospitality Freight Company (HFC) in Las Vegas. "The oversized desk for the lobby was a beast and one of the most difficult things we have ever asked Lynden to ship for us—in the dimensions, 30 feet by 8 feet, fragility and its value of $250,000." Designed in England and made of resin, the wave arrived in Honolulu in a special crate. Due to its size, it required a sky crane to set it in place and secure it into position. With Lynden's help, HFC this and other work for Ward Village by the deadline.

In addition to unique designer desks, Lynden ships flooring, appliances, furniture, bathroom fixtures and other freight to support the hotel industry. HFC is a freight company dedicated to providing its clients with the best possible freight rates and service on hotel furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E). The company has counted on Lynden to make good on its promises for 32 years. For Ward Village (pictured above), Lynden moved domestic freight to its Los Angeles warehouse where the team consolidated weekly air and ocean shipments to Hawaii as the construction schedule dictated. The pieces included unusual items like an oversized dining table that required removal of a window for crane placement inside an upper floor unit.

Late last year, HFC also completed the 38-story Ritz-Carlton Residences in Honolulu and is currently at work supplying materials for the Wilshire Grand project, a 73-story, 900-room hotel on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. When completed, it will be the tallest hotel west of the Mississippi.

Lynden has provided warehousing, shipping and deliveries for the project from the beginning and will continue until it is finished this summer. "I choose Lynden because they perform," Gentz says. "From providing quotes quickly to all the weird stuff that comes up with international air and ocean freight, they are always flexible and creative. Looking down the road, we may be working on a years-long monster project 20 times the size of Ward Village. Lynden was the first company I thought of to ship the variety of freight needed."

Two years ago during the West Coast labor dispute, Lynden's creativity came into play. HFC was facing delays at U.S. ports and needed to move FF&E from Vietnam to Chicago for a hotel grand opening. "By routing ocean shipments to Prince Rupert, B.C. then rail, the less-urgent cargo was on its way and we avoided U.S. ports," remembers Dave McGeath, Ocean Operations Manager in Seattle. Commercial flights and a chartered 747-400 freighter from Vietnam were used for the hottest shipments and overflow.

"Our goal is to create partnerships that make our customers successful and allow them to get those 'heads on beds' by hotel deadlines," explains Charlie Ogle, Lynden's Senior Director of Global Sales.

Hotel-condo conversions, hotel renovations and construction of new condominium hotels with mixed use space are sweeping the U.S. In some markets, like Miami, there has been a 15 percent reduction in hotel rooms as they are repurposed for condos.

Whether condos or hotels, the freight deadlines are non-negotiable. "These projects are high touch and high pressure," Ogle says. "They are notorious for running late due to late signoff of designs, funding and manufacturing delays. Materials orders are often placed when projects are already behind schedule. Customers look to the logistics provider to save the day. That's when our multi-modal mix of transportation comes into play."

Lynden's array of air, sea and surface choices allows customers to create customized domestic or international transportation plans to accommodate a mix of slower moving freight as well as expedited cargo. "We often move furniture from the manufacturer's factory overseas all the way through to delivery at the project site or project staging warehouse," Ogle says. In the event of time critical FF&E air transport or expedited domestic shipments, trucking can be arranged so that hotel equipment installation schedules are kept on schedule.

The ramifications of late or missing freight in the hospitality industry can be serious business. Hotel owners cannot afford to turn away confirmed guests due to a renovation project running behind. "Our job is to make sure the FF&E is there on time. Since we are the last cog in the procurement wheel it's up to us to proactively follow the customer's shipments and make adjustments mid-stream if necessary to meet installation deadlines," Ogle explains. "We design the solution around the needs and desires of our customers."

Update: the albatross is finishing up rehab in California and hopefully will be heading home soon!

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In April a freeloading albatross hitched a ride on an Aloha Marine Lines voyage from Honolulu to Seattle. However, it nearly traded its life for what it saved in physical exertion.

Operations Manager Mark Sheehan first saw the bird when the night crew pointed it out to him after a two-week voyage across the Pacific Ocean. The bird was severely dehydrated and emaciated. Even in its weakened state, it wasn’t too keen on being assisted by a human, so when Sheehan tried to pick the bird up, it bolted.

Luckily, the bird was so weakened that it allowed Sheehan to pick it up (above). “That was fortuitous,” Mark said. “Had it been able to outrun me or was able to fly, it probably would have ended up dead.”

Mark called the Seattle Aquarium and Veterinarian Lesanna Lahner who brought the female bird to the Sarvey Wildlife Care Center in Arlington where it was treated with antibiotics for pneumonia.

It’s likely that the albatross took a break on the barge when it departed Honolulu, then couldn’t get into a spot with enough wind necessary for it to take flight. So it settled in between a couple of containers for the grueling journey.

The albatross has been well cared for at Sarvey and is now ready to return home to Hawaii. Sarvey Wildlife Director Suzanne West is searching for a Coast Guard or commercial flight to get the albatross back to Hawaii for mating season.