By Gerardo R. Partido
Variety News Staff

HORIZON Lines has lowered its fuel surcharge for its Hawaii and Guam trades effective Jan. 29.
The shipping company’s fuel surcharge will go down by 1.25 percent, from 18.75 percent to 17.5 percent.
The amended fuel surcharge has been filed with the Surface Transportation Board and covers tariffs governing shipments moving between the continental U.S. and Hawaii and Guam.
According to Horizon, the decrease is the result of the continued downward trend in the company’s fuel costs.
The company said it would continue to monitor fuel costs on a weekly basis and adjust its fuel surcharge as trends warrant.
Another bit of good news for the region was Horizon’s announcement of a new service to the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of Palau under the carrier’s subsidiary company, Horizon Lines of Guam LLC.
Horizon Lines of Guam now offers through bills of lading service between Chuuk, Pohnpei, Kosrae, Yap and Palau and the United States.
According to Brian Taylor, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Horizon Lines, Horizon Lines of Guam will offer competitive transit times and frequencies into these points.
The new offering will utilize Horizon Lines vessels for service between U.S. mainland ports and Guam, with FSM Line providing service between Guam and Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae and Western Pacific Shipping providing service between Guam and Yap and Palau.
Shipments between the U.S. and Guam, Tinian and Rota will continue to be booked with Horizon Lines LLC, which last month received the first of five new ships that will be deployed in its Guam service.
The company took delivery of its first new containership, the Horizon Hunter from the Hyundai Mipo shipyard in South Korea.
The Horizon Hunter is the first of five new, U.S.-flag, foreign built, sister vessels that the company is chartering from subsidiaries of Ship Finance International Limited under definitive long-term charters and related agreements that closed on April 11, 2006.
The new vessels will be deployed in Horizon Lines’ TP1 service linking the U.S. West Coast with Guam and Asia starting this year.
According to Horizon, the deployment of the five new vessels will not only provide additional space and faster transit time between the U.S. West Coast, Guam and Asia, but will also result in the redeployment of Horizon’s larger and younger U.S.-built ships into two of the company’s three fully qualified Jones Act markets, as well as Hawaii and Puerto Rico.