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PETROLEUM DIRECTORY: TOTE introduces two new state-of-the-art ships to its services New ships and terminal upgrades will bring additional carrying capacity and improved efficiency to TOTE's cargo operations Alan Bailey PNA Contributing Writer
With much of Alaska's goods and supplies shipping through the Port of Anchorage, Totem Ocean Trailer Express's unique roll-on/roll-off cargo service has become something of an institution in the state. Now, having achieved an exemplary reputation for its efficiency in moving anything from bulldozers to frozen food between the Lower 48 and Alaska, TOTE is embarking on a new phase of development.
TOTE, a private, Alaska-owned company, was founded in 1975 and currently operates three ships on the Tacoma-Anchorage run.
"We're a roll-on/roll-off operation," Bob Magee, president and CEO of Totem Ocean Trailer Express Inc., told Petroleum News Alaska. "You can drive and park on board or, if the piece is large enough, we have the availability to lift it on board using cranes."
The ability to drive on and off the ships greatly speeds up turnaround time at the ports and allows customers to keep freight on their own vehicles during a voyage.
Magee said that the company moves freight directly for customers and carries loads for third-party shippers that provide transportation services such as trucking or freight consolidation. The company specializes in moving freight between the Lower 48 and Alaska.
Two to three trips per week With each of its three ships taking a week for the round trip between Tacoma and Anchorage, TOTE offers three sailings per week for eight months of the year. The company cuts the schedule to two sailings per week for four months during the winter.
"Generally speaking it's a half day ... in Tacoma, a three day water transit to Alaska, a half a day in Anchorage and a three day water transit back," Magee said. "So each ship makes one weekly round trip voyage, setting out and arriving at approximately the same time on the same day of the week, week in, week out, year round."
All three ships can carry large loads.
"We can carry loads up to 14 feet wide and ... we can carry loads that are 70 feet or more long," Magee said.
And, thanks to ramps that run from the dock up onto the main deck of each ship, there aren't any overhead clearance issues for very high loads — the high loads simply sit on the main deck for the voyage.
"So we can handle extremely high, extremely wide and extremely long loads — loads that are even too big to get a highway permit to move them," Magee said.
Both in the Lower 48 and in Alaska TOTE arranges a complete freight pickup and delivery service for inland destinations.
"We have arrangements with trucking companies in the Lower 48 and trucking companies in Alaska and also with railroads," Magee said.
In Alaska, TOTE operates its own fleet of trucks for delivery anywhere in the state's road system. The company also operates a feeder service by ship to Whittier and Cordova.
New ships TOTE is building on its success and adapting for the future by commissioning two new ships for its fleet and by improving some other aspects of its operations.
"We are investing about $350 million into our systems," Magee said, "and that $350 million is made up of $320 million in new ships and about $30 million in new terminal upgrades ... and a variety of rolling stock, trailers and tractors."
National Steel and Shipbuilding Company is constructing the new ships in San Diego for delivery in May and August of this year.
"They are 50 percent larger than the existing ships," Magee said. "They have approximately 320,000 square feet of deck space. They have five trailer decks served by 12 internal ramps and three shoreside ramps."
The new ships will be able to accommodate many more of the modern 53-foot trailers than the older vessels.
"Currently we can handle the big 53-foot trailers, but only in limited quantities," Magee said.
Diesel-electric power Diesel-electric propulsion systems can drive the new ships at 24 knots.
"The diesel-electric power is more fuel efficient than the existing steam boiler turbine design and it's also much more redundant," Magee said.
The power system redundancy comes from multiple electrical generators combined with twin screw propulsion — two electric motors drive the screws while four large generators and two small generators provide the electricity.
"The six generators can be stepped down in any combination of large and small and in any number to power the ship," Magee said. "Normal maintenance and repair work can be done continuously while underway without stopping the ship."
As well as fuel efficiency, the new ships boast a number of environmental features such as double hull fuel compartments, modern sewage treatment, a freshwater ballast system and shoreside trash disposal.
Terminal upgrades In parallel with new ship construction, TOTE has embarked on some major terminal upgrades in Tacoma and Anchorage.
"Both of our terminals are being reconstructed by the Port of Anchorage and the Port of Tacoma," Magee said, "... we are including wider lanes so that we can fit the bigger trailers."
The upgrades also include better lighting, to improve safety and efficiency.
Magee also explained that the company is improving its dispatch and receiving procedures — these improvements will result in faster turnaround for customers.
"Currently it takes a customer, on average, about 35 minutes to turnaround at our terminal," Magee said. "... we'd like to cut that down ... to 20 minutes." Top-notch services Although TOTE sees its new developments as a major step forward, the company already prides itself in the quality of its services — the company has achieved an impressive record for on-time delivery of freight.
"We have a better than 96 percent on-time arrival rate (for our ships)," Magee said.
Given rough seas in the Gulf of Alaska, frequent storms, ice in the upper Cook Inlet and 30 foot tides, that arrival rate attests to the professionalism of the operation.
Magee cites the skills of the sailors as a major factor in achieving high service levels — TOTE's vessel crews are highly trained and qualified.
The ability of skilled and trained longshoremen to turn the ships around very fast in port also forms a critical part of the service.
"You can't make a ship go at 30 knots across the Gulf of Alaska, so one of the keys is keeping a ship in port as short a time as possible," Magee said.
Powerful, reliable ships also underpin the whole operation.
"You want to have enough power in the ship to be able to drive it through the currents and the ice," Magee said. "You want to make sure that you have enough redundancies built into your ship that one or two problems don't stop you or slow you down."
The U.S. military has recently demonstrated its confidence in the reliability and efficiency of TOTE's fleet by using one of the company's ships to transport military hardware to the Middle East.
"It's for the same reason that it fits the niche in Alaska — it's very reliable, it's very fast and it's got lots of heavy deck space to carry vehicles," Magee said.
And, with its upgraded fleet, TOTE expects to achieve an even higher level of performance, moving a wide variety of cargo quickly and reliably to and from Alaska.
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