TransAtlantic Lines LLC
Encyclopedia
TransAtlantic Lines LLC is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 shipping company
Ship transport
Ship transport is watercraft carrying people or goods . Sea transport has been the largest carrier of freight throughout recorded history. Although the importance of sea travel for passengers has decreased due to aviation, it is effective for short trips and pleasure cruises...

 based in Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 61,171. It is home to many hedge funds and other financial service companies. Greenwich is the southernmost and westernmost municipality in Connecticut and is 38+ minutes ...

. The limited liability company
Limited liability company
A limited liability company is a flexible form of enterprise that blends elements of partnership and corporate structures. It is a legal form of company that provides limited liability to its owners in the vast majority of United States jurisdictions...

 was founded in 1998 by vice-president Gudmundur Kjaernested and president Brandon C. Rose. The company owns and operates 5 vessels, including one tug-and-barge combination. Four of these vessels are chartered by the Military Sealift Command
Military Sealift Command
The Military Sealift Command is a United States Navy organization that controls most of the replenishment and military transport ships of the Navy. It first came into existence on 9 July 1949 when the Military Sea Transportation Service became solely responsible for the Department of Defense's...

, and perform duties such as delivering cargo to U.S. military activities in Diego Garcia
Diego Garcia
Diego Garcia is a tropical, footprint-shaped coral atoll located south of the equator in the central Indian Ocean at 7 degrees, 26 minutes south latitude. It is part of the British Indian Ocean Territory [BIOT] and is positioned at 72°23' east longitude....

 and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. TransAtlantic maintains resident agents in the U.S. District of New York and other federal Districts to receive service of process. TransAtlantic Lines has no collective bargaining agreements with seagoing unions.

History

In 1997, Gudmundur Kjærnested decided to start a shipping company to serve the Iceland route. Then an Icelandic citizen, educated in the United States, and having worked at Van Ommeren shipping for seven years, he was familiar with the route and its history. Kjarnested is a citizen of Iceland and U.S. resident alien who was married on May 20, 2000 to U.S.-national Margaret Elizabeth Bozzi. He is also president of Atlantsskip in Reykjavik, Iceland. Kjærnested's college roommate at Babson College
Babson College
Babson College is a private business school located in Wellesley, Massachusetts near Boston.- History :Babson College was founded by Roger Babson on September 3, 1919, as the Babson Institute. It was renamed "Babson College" in 1969...

, Brandon C. Rose, an American who came from an affluent family whose yearly business revenues were estimated at $200 million per year. Rose offered to back the company, and together they started the two companies TransAtlantic Lines LLC and TransAtlantic Lines Iceland in February 1998. The two were originally even partners in both ventures, and are also the primary owners of the Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

ic company TransAtlantic Lines-Iceland EHF (TLI). Shortly thereafter, they accepted an offer from shipping company American Automar to purchase 51% of the company, along with a never-exercised option to buy 51% of another Icelandic company largely owned by Kjærnested, Atlantsskip.

The company made several preparations to bid for the Iceland contract. Rose secured a million-dollar letter of credit from the State Bank of Long Island to back early operations. The company did not yet own any ships, but did secure four letters from U.S. shipping companies pledging to supply vessels sufficient to cover the charter requirements. One of the pledged vessels was the supply boat Native Dancer.

Eight bids for the 1998 U.S.–Iceland run were solicited by the Military Traffic Management Command on 30 January 1998, and six bids were received. Observers speculate that the bids were from the Icelandic company Eimskip, Dutch shipping company Van Ommeren, Atlantsskip, TransAtlantic Lines, and TransAtlantic Lines Iceland. In September 1998, the Military Traffic Management Command awarded 65% of the Iceland contract to TransAtlantic Lines Iceland, the lowest overall bidder, and the remaining 35% to the TransAtlantic Lines LLC, the lowest bidder among American shipping companies. The portion awarded to TransAtlantic Lines LLC had a cumulative total value of $5,519,295 and was set to expire by 31 October 2000.

Within a month, TransAtlantic re-flagged Juno to the United States and renamed it Geysir at the Port of Jacksonville
Port of Jacksonville
The Port of Jacksonville is an international trade seaport on the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. The newest port in the United States, it carries over 21 million tons of cargo each year and has an annual impact of over $19 billion, including 65,000 jobs...

. In response to the awards, the government of Iceland lodged a protest with the U.S. State Department, arguing that "TLI was not a true Icelandic shipping company" and "lacks the necessary experience, technical capability, financial responsibility, and material connection with Iceland" Shipping companies Van Ommeren Lines (USA) and Eimskip of Iceland, which had previously serviced the Iceland route, sued the United States protesting the award. The district court found for Van Ommeren and Eimskip, requiring the Army to re-start the bidding process. TransAtlantic appealed the decision, and on 11 January 2000 the Court of Appeals reversed the lower court's decision, finally securing the contract for TransAtlantic.

On June 13, 2001, the company won a contract with an estimated cumulative value of $16,738,001 for dedicated ocean liner cargo service from Jacksonville, Florida to U.S. military installations in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. This contract extended until June 30, 2004. The government announced the requirements for the charter on the World Wide Web on December 4, 2000, and seven bids were received. Military Traffic and Management Command in Alexandria, Virginia, is the contracting activity. The company uses the tugboat Spence
Tugboat Spence
The Tugboat Spence and its Barge Guantanamo Bay Express are owned by American shipping company TransAtlantic Lines LLC. Together, they make a twice-monthly trip between Naval Station Mayport near Jacksonville, Florida and Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.Each leg of the trip takes...

 and its barge the Guantanamo Bay Express make the twice-monthly trip between Jacksonville and Guantanamo Bay. Each leg of the trip takes approximately 4 and 1/2 days and covers approximately 1000 miles (1,609.3 km).

On November 11, 2004, while leaving Mayport, Florida en route to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the tow wires connecting the tug and barge parted, causing the barge to run aground. At the time of the accident, the vessels were experiencing thirty knot wind gusts and 12 feet (3.7 m) seas. Extensive bottom damage and breaches to all port side voids were reported. The barge was refloated and delivered to the owners the following day. The vessels were owned by Pac-Atlantic Marine Leasing, LCC at the time.

In 2004, Carsten Rehder affiliate company Rehder & Arkon bought MV Steamers Future in April 2004, and renamed her . Rehder & Arkon chartered her for 6 months to Mariana Express Lines, and sold her to TransAtlantic Lines in late October 2004. TransAtlantic Lines bought her for US$6.3M.

MV Baffin Strait is one of Military Sealift Command
Military Sealift Command
The Military Sealift Command is a United States Navy organization that controls most of the replenishment and military transport ships of the Navy. It first came into existence on 9 July 1949 when the Military Sea Transportation Service became solely responsible for the Department of Defense's...

's seven container ship
Container ship
Container ships are cargo ships that carry all of their load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. They form a common means of commercial intermodal freight transport.-History:...

s and is part of the 28 ships in the Sealift Program Office. Since 2004, the ship, often referred to as the 'DGAR shuttle,' has been chartered to deliver 250 containers each month from Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 to Diego Garcia
Diego Garcia
Diego Garcia is a tropical, footprint-shaped coral atoll located south of the equator in the central Indian Ocean at 7 degrees, 26 minutes south latitude. It is part of the British Indian Ocean Territory [BIOT] and is positioned at 72°23' east longitude....

. The ship carries everything from fresh food to building supplies to aircraft parts, delivering more than 200,000 tons of cargo to the island each year." On the return trip back to Singapore, she carries recyclable metals. In 2004, TransAtlantic Lines outbid Sealift Incorporated
Sealift Incorporated
Sealift Incorporated is an American shipping company based in Oyster Bay, New York. The privately held corporation was founded in 1975 by the four owners who remain the principal executives. Sealift Inc. is one of the largest ocean contractors for transporting U.S. food aid and participates in...

 for the contract to haul cargo between Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 and Diego Garcia
Diego Garcia
Diego Garcia is a tropical, footprint-shaped coral atoll located south of the equator in the central Indian Ocean at 7 degrees, 26 minutes south latitude. It is part of the British Indian Ocean Territory [BIOT] and is positioned at 72°23' east longitude....

. The route had previously been serviced by Sealift Inc.'s MV Sagamore which was manned by members of American Maritime Officers
American Maritime Officers
American Maritime Officers is a national labor union affiliated with the Seafarers International Union of North America. With an active membership of approximately 4,000, AMO is the largest union of merchant marine officers in the U.S. and primarily represents licensed mariners working in the...

 and Seafarer's International Union. TransAtlantic Lines reportedly won the contract by approximately 10 percent, representing a price difference of about $2.7 million.

As a result of winning this contract, the US Navy gave the Baffin Strait the hull classification symbol
Hull classification symbol
The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration use hull classification symbols to identify their ship types and each individual ship within each type...

 (T-AK W9519). The T-AK series symbol is given to the seven container ships chartered by MSC but owned and operated by contractors. The Baffin Straits current charter runs from January 10, 2005 to September 30, 2008 on a daily rate of $12,550 under contract number N00033-05-C-5500.

In 2006, TransAtlantic bought the MT Bonito, then registered in Sweden, from Donsö Shipping KB for $13,000,000, and renamed it MT TransPacific. On 20 July 2006, the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command announced the charter for the Transpacific. The charter, which commenced 1 October 2006, is a one-year firm-fixed-price contract of $6,879,520 with additional reimbursables. The contract includes three additional one-year option periods and one 11-month option period which can total $25,589,458 plus additional reimbursables.

In each charter period, the government has the right to cancel after 60 days with 10 days notice. After each initial 60-day period, the government can cancel the charter with 30 days notice. The end of the base period of the charter is September 2007, and the charter will last until August 2011 if all options are exercised. This contract was competitively procured with more than 85 proposals solicited and three offers received.

The charter had previously been held by MV Montauk
MV Montauk
MV Kalia is a small double-hulled oil tanker managed by Adminros Shipmanagement Company, Ltd. and registered under the flag of Cyprus. The 109-meter-long ship has a nominal crew of 13 and can carry of oil...

, operated by Sealift Incorporated
Sealift Incorporated
Sealift Incorporated is an American shipping company based in Oyster Bay, New York. The privately held corporation was founded in 1975 by the four owners who remain the principal executives. Sealift Inc. is one of the largest ocean contractors for transporting U.S. food aid and participates in...

. Sealift Incorporated protested the charter award with the Government Accounting Office (GAO), claiming that TransAtlantic Lines understated its fuel-consumption costs. The GAO denied this protest, as well as an additional technical complaint about what business entity actually employed crewmembers.

On 27 October 2006 the District Court of Guam
District Court of Guam
The District Court of Guam is a United States territorial court with jurisdiction over the Territory of Guam. It sits in the capital, Hagåtña....

 ordered TransAtlantic Lines to post a cash security of $310,000 to take possession of the vessel from Guam Industrial Services. TransAtlantic Lines posted the bond and took possession of the ship.`

On 3 February 2009 the United States Transportation Command awarded TransAtlantic a $15,078,334 contract to carry cargo between the United States and the terminal in Praia da Vitoria
Praia da Vitória
Praia da Vitória is a municipality in Portugal's Autonomous Region of the Azores. The second largest administrative division on the island of Terceira, Praia da Vitória occupies the northern coast of the island and extends halfway into the interior having at its frontiers Pico Alto and the shield...

, Azores. This contract, serviced by the Geysir, is expected to be completed by 29 February 2012, and was a 100 percent Small Business Set Aside acquisition with two bids received.

, TransAtlantic Lines owns
Ship-owner
A shipowner is the owner of a merchant vessel . In the commercial sense of the term, a shipowner is someone who equips and exploits a ship, usually for delivering cargo at a certain freight rate, either as a per freight rate or based on hire...

 and operates 5 vessels, including one tug-and-barge combination. Four of these vessels are chartered by the Military Sealift Command
Military Sealift Command
The Military Sealift Command is a United States Navy organization that controls most of the replenishment and military transport ships of the Navy. It first came into existence on 9 July 1949 when the Military Sea Transportation Service became solely responsible for the Department of Defense's...

, and perform duties such as delivering cargo to U.S. military activities in Diego Garcia
Diego Garcia
Diego Garcia is a tropical, footprint-shaped coral atoll located south of the equator in the central Indian Ocean at 7 degrees, 26 minutes south latitude. It is part of the British Indian Ocean Territory [BIOT] and is positioned at 72°23' east longitude....

 and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. TransAtlantic Lines has no collective bargaining agreements with seagoing unions.

Fleet

Name Type Owns Operates Length Delivery
Date
Gross
Tonnage
Image
GeysirMV Geysir
MV Geysir
MV Geysir is a U.S.-flagged general cargo/container ship owned by TransAtlantic Lines LLC. Originally named Amazonia, the 90-meter ship was built by American Atlantic Shipping in 1980 to serve a route from the United States to Brazil...

General cargo ship 83.5152 m (LBP) 1 June 1980 2,266
Baffin StraitMV TransAtlantic General cargo ship/container ship 100.59100.59 m (LOA) 19971997 4,276
TransPacificMT Transpacific Petroleum tanker 109.1109.1 m (LOA) 20012001 3,469
Guantanamo Bay ExpressBarge Guantanamo Bay Express Deck cargo barge 76.276.2 m (LBP) 19831 September 1983 2,529
SpenceTugboat Spence
Tugboat Spence
The Tugboat Spence and its Barge Guantanamo Bay Express are owned by American shipping company TransAtlantic Lines LLC. Together, they make a twice-monthly trip between Naval Station Mayport near Jacksonville, Florida and Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.Each leg of the trip takes...

Tugboat 27.776427.7764 m (LBP) 19741 September 1974 189

Contracts

U.S. government contract payments to TransAtlantic Lines over $10,000 from 2001 to 23 January 2011.
Date Amount Contract Vessel Notes References
$2,795,870 DAMT01-98-D-9612 : 0371: P00006 Geysir Exercise option
$5,974,590 DAMT01-02-D-0025 : 0063 Spence
$1,841,842 DAMT01-98-D-9612 : 2003 Geysir
$34,125 N68836-03-P-0099 Jacksonville, small purchase/rental
$7,895,215 DAMT01-02-D-0025 : 0842: P00005 Spence Jacksonville, Exercise an Option
$126,481 DAMT01-03-D-0128 : 1257 97-0300:Procurement Defense-wide
$3,484,272 DAMT01-02-D-0025 : 1159 Spence
$1,586,151 DAMT01-98-D-9612 : 1211: P00008 Geysir Change Order
$3,934,745 W81GYE-04-D-0022: 0248 Norfolk
$-1,384,076 W81GYE-04-D-0022: 1176: P00005 Funding Only Action, Norfolk
$6,201,526 DAMT01-02-D-0025 : 0276: P00014 Spence Norfolk
$983,686 W81GYE-04-D-0022 : 0105 Norfolk
$3,984,700 N00033-05-C-5500 Baffin Strait Singapore
$-175,700 N00033-05-C-5500: P00001 Baffin Strait Funding Only Action, Singapore
$-250,800 N00033-05-C-5500: P00002 Baffin Strait Funding Only Action, Singapore
$2,951,064 W81GYE-04-D-0022 : 9084: 8 Exercise an Option
$4,991,610 DAMT01-02-D-0025 : 0305: 17 Spence Exercise an Option, Jacksonville
$8,127,917 DAMT01-02-D-0025 : 9065: 17 Spence Change Order, Jacksonville
$1,274,286 DAMT01-02-D-0025 : 0305 Spence Jacksonville
$320,805 DAMT01-03-D-0128 : 9070: 7 Exercise an Option
$16,000 DAMT01-02-D-0025 : 9050: 18 Spence Change Order, Jacksonville
$764,572 DAMT01-02-D-0025 : 9052: 19 Spence Change Order, Jacksonville
$798,553 DAMT01-02-D-0025 : 9054: 21 Spence Change Order, Jacksonville
$15,000 DAMT01-03-D-0128 : 9848: 10 Change Order
$3,186,278 DAMT01-02-D-0025 : 9057: 22 Spence Change Order, Jacksonville
$3,818,250 N00033-05-C-5500: P00003 Baffin Strait Exercise an Option, Singapore
$1,062,093 DAMT01-02-D-0025 : 9001: 25 Spence Funding action, Jacksonville
$1,144,326 DAMT01-02-D-0025 : 9001: 28 Spence Funding action, Jacksonville
$2,300,000 W81GYE-04-D-0022 : 9001: 17 Change Order, Norfolk
$4,515,374 W81GYE-06-D-0117 : 9001 Jacksonville
$11,843,664 N00033-06-C-5409 TransPacific Charter hire
$4,668,250 N00033-05-C-5500: P00006 Baffin Strait Funding Only Action
$7,309,530 N00033-05-C-5500: P00007 Baffin Strait Funding Only Action
$-4,668,250 N00033-05-C-5500: P00008 Baffin Strait Funding deobligation
$449,000 N00033-07-C-5234 W020: Lease or Rental of Equipment: Lump-sum freight rate, Greece to Israel
$1,700,000 N00033-06-C-5409: P00003 TransPacific FY08 funding to cover cost of exercising option period
$5,139,018 N00033-06-C-5409: P00004 TransPacific
$180,735 N00033-07-C-5234: P00001 W020: Lump-sum freight rate, Greece to Israel, modification for demurrage
$100,000 N00033-06-C-5409: P00005 TransPacific BUNKERS
$1,700,000 N00033-06-C-5409: P00006 TransPacific Charter hire
$3,928,300 N00033-05-C-5500: P00010 Baffin Strait Option period 3 charter hire
$8,839,018 N00033-06-C-5409: P00007 TransPacific Exercise an Option, Charter hire
$3,758,200 N00033-05-C-5500: P00012 Baffin Strait FY 09 funding
$15,078,334 HTC711-09-D-0006 Geysir includes base year with 2 options
$422,000 N00033-05-C-5500: P00014 Baffin Strait Option period 3 charter hire
$6,444,270 N00033-06-C-5409: P00008 TransPacific Charter hire, option three funding
$-5,000 HTC711-09-D-0006 : 0001: 1 Geysir Minimum contract value already satisfied
$50,250 N00033-05-C-5500: P00015 Baffin Strait Option period 3, charter hire
$1,332,000 N00033-10-C-5500 Baffin Strait Hire for 72 days
$144,104 N00033-10-C-5500: P00002 Baffin Strait Additional funding for fuel
$25,969 N00033-05-C-5500: P00016 Baffin Strait Last hire
$229,000 N00033-10-C-5203 Hire
$-15,719 N00033-05-C-5500: P00017 Baffin Strait Option period 3 charter hire
$15,719 N00033-05-C-5500: P00018 Baffin Strait Option period 3 charter hire

External links

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