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.
Tags: Shipping to Hawaii, Alaska Marine Lines, Hawaii, Lynden Capabilities, Aloha Marine Lines
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. To read the article, visit https://www.tradepublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/BI0319_LR.pdf
Tags: Shipping to Hawaii, Alaska Marine Lines, Lynden employees, Hawaii
Update: the albatross is finishing up rehab in California and hopefully will be heading home soon!
---
I
n 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.
Tags: Barge, Hawaii, Aloha Marine Lines
The Lynden family of companies is pleased to welcome Northland Services, a marine transportation company providing shipping between Seattle, Alaska and Hawaii.
"Northland is a dynamic company with talented people and a great reputation," says Lynden President and CEO Jon Burdick. "Its barge capabilities to Hawaii and Western Alaska complement Lynden's current service offerings and allow us to provide expanded services to our customers. We can now offer integrated service to more Alaska destinations, with more frequency and greater combined capabilities."
Northland's barge service from the Pacific Northwest to Hawaii enhances Lynden's current ship and air services to the islands. The addition of Northland's Western Alaska barge services enables Lynden to service ports throughout the State of Alaska. Both companies share a commitment to keep customers' freight moving smoothly and efficiently through the transition process.
"Lynden provides an ideal situation to better serve our customers, our employees and the communities where we operate," explains Larry Stauffer, President and CEO of Northland. "We have seen significant growth in our business over the past decade, and bringing two great companies and teams together will help improve and expand service in the communities we serve."
"We are excited about the new opportunities that will emerge from the combination of Lynden and Northland," explains Executive Vice President and COO Alex McKallor.
The Lynden family of companies includes Lynden Transport, LTI, Inc., Milky Way, Alaska West Express, Alaska Marine Lines, Lynden Air Cargo, Brown Line, LLC, Lynden International and others. Its combined capabilities include: truckload and less-than-truckload freight to Alaska, scheduled and charter barges, rail barges, intermodal bulk chemical hauls, scheduled and chartered air freighters, domestic and international shipping via air and ocean forwarding, customs brokerage, trade show shipping, remote site construction, sanitary bulk commodities hauling, and multi-modal logistics. Lynden companies are repeat winners in the annual Quest for Quality customer service awards presented by Logistics Management magazine.
Tags: Western Alaska, Lynden, Barge, Alaska Marine Lines, Southeast Alaska, Hawaii, Alaska
After celebrating over 25 years in Hawaii earlier this year, Lynden International has expanded ocean freight capabilities to the Hawaiian Islands and welcomed Patrick Omura as Business Development Manager. Based in Honolulu, Pat will work closely with the gateway operation in Los Angeles to develop and support traffic between Lynden’s offshore partners and U.S. offices.
New features have been added to ocean freight service to Hawaii including warehousing, distribution, consolidations, multiple pick-up and delivery options plus Full Container-Load (FCL) and Less-than-Container-Load (LCL) options for customers. Lynden International has been serving the Hawaiian Islands for 25 years with offices in Honolulu and Maui
“We are optimally situated to provide full-service shipping to Hawaii,” says Jeff Bell, Director of the Mid-Pacific Region. “We provide the same quality customer service on ocean moves that our customers depend on with our air freight product. We have added Patrick Omura to our Hawaii team to manage and develop this part of our business.”
Omura has more than 21 years of industry experience, most recently in sales management for YRC Worldwide in Hawaii and Servco Pacific Office Products. He is a graduate of the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Omura is past Director and Chairman of the Leeward Oahu Jaycees, a volunteer for Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Honolulu, an America Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) coach and president of the Hawaii Management Association.
Tags: Lynden International, Shipping to Hawaii, Hawaii, Anniversary
The aloha spirit is alive and well in Honolulu, where Lynden International celebrated its 25th year in Hawaii with an anniversary event last month. More than 100 customers, vendors, employees and friends gathered to reminisce about Lynden’s long service to the islands. Seattle executives Dave Richardson, Randy Jackson and John Kaloper were on hand and participated in special recognition of Marvalyn Mallette Ringling, Lynden’s first employee on the island in 1986. Marvalyn is pictured at right doing the hula for guests.
From left, Jeff Bell, Phyllis and Dave Richardson, Chris and Marvalyn Ringling and Kahu Kordell Kekoa, a Hawaiian Minister who performed a blessing of Lynden and its guests during the anniversary event.
Tags: Lynden International, Shipping to Hawaii, Lynden employees, Hawaii, Anniversary
Looking to expand its services, Lynden Air Freight opened an office in Honolulu soon after the New Year in 1987. Lynden’s first employee on the island was Marvalyn Mallette Ringling and, 25 years later, she is still there, answering phones, greeting long-time customers by name and showing the Aloha spirit Lynden is now known for.
Photo: Marvalyn Mallette Ringling and Robb Guro
“We’re not just a mainland company doing business in Hawaii, we were born and raised here,” says Jeff Bell, Lynden’s Director of the Mid-Pacific. “With local staff we have established solid, long-standing relationships. We take pride in being a niche player in a niche market.”
Lynden, now known as Lynden International, is commemorating its 25th anniversary of shipping to Hawaii with a celebration on Feb. 11th, 25 years to the day the office opened. More than 200 customers, vendors and employees will gather on the roof of the Lynden warehouse overlooking the Honolulu airport to ring in the next quarter century. Lynden International commissioned a special poster (created by Lynden’s own Julie Notarianni) to celebrate the 25th anniversary:
“Hawaii is a very competitive market, and customers may have four or five people trying to win their shipping business. They can afford to be picky,” Ringling explains. “What sets us apart then and now is a good product and personal service. Customers want to talk to a real person on the phone who remembers them from six months ago or even six years ago. We don’t ask customers to start a conversation with an account number. I make it a point to stay connected with them even if they haven’t shipped with us in awhile.”
Customers’ expectations have certainly changed over the past 25 years. On the ocean side, they expect reduced transit times and quality along with quick cutoff times and perfect execution, Marva says. Supply chains on Hawaii have matured and if something goes wrong customers want to know about it right away so they can manage their inventory, products and employees. “That’s why Lynden’s EZ Commerce is such a huge selling point,” Ringling says. “Many forwarders have not embraced the technology piece at this level.”
Senior International Operations Agent Robb Guro has worked at the Honolulu office almost as long as Marva. Over 22 years, he’s heard just about everything from those on the mainland. “Someone from the Midwest once asked if we had chickens running around in our office,” he says. “Or why couldn’t deliveries be made to a neighbor island – can’t you just take the bridge to the next island? The comments were hilarious, but I was surprised how unaware people were about the geography and business atmosphere in Hawaii”.
Separating fact from fiction just comes with the job, he says, but the real challenge is being the last state in the national time zone. “Time is against us here. We are opposite the east coast in time zones, so we must act quickly to get a shipment booked or respond to an email. We often need to answer requests and questions the minute we get in.”
Looking back over two-plus decades, the Hawaiian freight industry has changed from construction to retail. “Back in the mid-80s construction was king,” Ringling says. “Maui went through a growth spurt with a lot of hotel construction going on. We were moving a lot of oversized, heavy cargo. Now retail is king along with perishables like fruit and flowers.”
In 1992, Lynden arranged for charters and emergency shipments when Hurricane Iniki ravaged the Hawaiian island of Kauai. Lynden was the first air freight forwarder to set up a regular office on the island to meet customers’ and residents’ needs. “We couldn’t keep up with the calls,” remembers Ringling. “We moved a ton of generators and a 10,000-pound shipment of roofing material from Honolulu.”
Photo: Lynden's Honolulu warehouse
In Hawaii, Lynden is known for caring about customers and the community. “We’ve kept the same name since the very beginning – not acquiring new companies and changing people and services,” Ringling explains. “We don’t brag about what we do, we just quietly go about our business.”
Just last month, Lynden quietly donated the shipping of two containers of popcorn for the annual Boy Scouts popcorn drive. Lynden employees unpacked the containers and then assisted with the distribution of the popcorn to fundraising locations around Honolulu. Lynden also helped bring the Lost Heroes Art Quilt to the state capitol this fall.
“This is a family owned company, and I think people feel that sense of family, or Aloha, in everything Lynden does,” Ringling explains. “After 25 years I still enjoy my job and each of our customers. Here in Honolulu, Aloha means more than just hello and goodbye. It means treating everyone with a spirit of harmony, affection and mutual respect.”
Tags: Lynden International, Shipping to Hawaii, Lynden employees, Hawaii, Anniversary
Earlier this year, Lynden International helped bring a special piece of art honoring men and women killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to Honolulu. The Lost Heroes Art Quilt is traveling the United States and made a stop in Honolulu in July. The quilt pays homage to fallen American soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan since Sept. 11, 2001. Created by artist Julie Chaleff Feingold, the quilt consists of squares honoring a fallen soldier from each of the 50 states who represents all of the soldiers who have lost their lives. In all, 82 military members are represented on the quilt with childhood photos and dates of service.
(From left: Chris Palmer, Libby Lee-Hobbs, Artist Julie Feingold, Major General Robert Lee, Gold Star Mother Nancy Hecker, and Ken Hodges)
Army Corporal Kyle Ka’eo Fernandez is Hawaii’s soldier honored on the quilt. Hawaii’s Lost Heroes were honored and their families recognized at a ceremony held in the state capitol featuring several speakers including the artist and Lt. Governor James Aiona.
Lynden and its airline partner, American Airlines, donated the shipping of the quilt from Alexandria, VA, to Honolulu. Ken Hodges, Honolulu Operations Manager, attended the ceremony with District Manager Chris Palmer and Libby Lee-Hobbs of American Airlines. “It was very moving,” Ken says. “It was also an eye-opener for me because it makes you realize the true sacrifice these people make to defend their country.” For more information about the quilt, visit www.heart2hand4art.com/lostheroesartquilt
