By Gerardo R. Partido
Variety News Staff

HORIZON Lines today is celebrating the deployment of the Horizon Hawk, the first of five new vessels that will be deployed in the carrier’s enhanced Transpacific-1 service between the mainland U.S., Guam, Micronesia and Asia.
According to Bu Frias, Horizon Lines business development manager, the company will hold a ceremony to welcome the new vessel today. The welcome party will be attended by Horizon Lines executive vice president John Handy and Horizon Lines vice president Mar Labrador.
The ceremony will also launch Horizon Lines’ Guam Micronesia service under the carrier’s subsidiary company, Horizon Lines of Guam LLC.
The Horizon Hawk is a new 2,824 TEU containership in the Horizon Lines fleet. It is the first of the five Hunter class vessels entering service this year for Horizon Lines.
According to the carrier, all five are of proven international design. They have a service speed of over 23 knots and are U.S.-flag, foreign built vessels that Horizon Lines is chartering from subsidiaries of Ship Finance International Limited under definitive long-term charters and related agreements.
The new ships were designed to be more efficient to operate and, as a result, will reduce operating costs while at the same time providing additional capacity to grow with the company’s markets, according to John V. Keenan, senior vice president and chief transportation officer for Horizon Lines.
This new tonnage upgrades the carrier’s previous TP1 service that has served the mainland U.S., Guam, Micronesia and Asia route with five Jones Act-qualified vessels.
The Jones Act covers ocean cargo services to and from Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, as well as cargo moving between other U.S. origin and destination ports, ensuring those cargoes are carried on U.S.-flag, U.S.-built and U.S.-manned vessels.
Company officials said redeploying the carrier’s Jones Act vessels from previous TP1 service to trade routes that require the U.S.-built vessels provides additional capacity and adequate ships to meet the needs of Horizon Lines’ customers well into the future.
The introduction of the new ships also allows the carrier’s other Jones Act vessels to be available as reserve capacity to meet seasonal and dry-dock needs, as well as to respond to potential new opportunities such as coastwise container services.
By July 2007, Horizon Lines plans to operate 17 active ships and to have four vessels in reserve status. The average age of the company’s active vessel fleet will be 20 years at that time, an industry standard.