Barge operator Seabridge belly up despite federal grants

SEABRIDGE FREIGHT has halted its Gulf Coast service after going bankrupt despite being awarded funding from the US Department of Transportation under its marine highways initiative aimed at shifting cargo off congested highways on to the waterways through the development and sustainment of short-sea services.


Seabridge Freight launched the tug and barge service between Brownsville, Texas and Manatee, Florida in December 2008. A report by London's Containerisation International said the service "was viewed by the administration as particularly significant as it was claimed to save 18 million highway miles annually" by catering primarily to container cargo that was too heavy to be hauled by trucks.


The report said the Miami-based company was awarded a US$3.3 million government grant last September. However, the company was unable to remain in business until this March when it was due to begin receiving payments to finance the reworking of two barges and buy equipment for its barge service, owing to insufficient funds.


Seabridge was forced to scrap its operations in November 2010 and by the end of December it had made staff redundant, although talks with investors were believed to have continued until early January.


"However, it has now become clear that the company is unlikely to raise sufficient capital to resume operations in the foreseeable future," Seabridge Freight's president and CEO Michael Shea was quoted as saying in a statement. "Thus effective immediately Seabridge Freight Inc. is closed with no plans to reopen."
(Source:http://www.schednet.com)