41°01′47″N 73°37′27″W / 41.029795°N 73.624186°W / 41.029795; -73.624186

TransAtlantic Lines LLC
TypeLimited liability company
FoundedFebruary 1, 1998 (1998-02-01)
Headquarters
6 Lincoln Ave Greenwich, Connecticut 06830-5751
,
USA
Key people
Gudmundur Kjaernested, Co-Founder and Vice-President,
ServicesShipping
WebsiteNone[1]

TransAtlantic Lines LLC is an American shipping company based in Greenwich, Connecticut.[2] The limited liability company was founded in 1998[2] by vice-president Gudmundur Kjaernested The company owned and operated 5 vessels, including one tug-and-barge combination. Four of these vessels were chartered by the Military Sealift Command, and performed duties such as delivering cargo to U.S. military activities in Diego Garcia. TransAtlantic maintains resident agents in the U.S. District of New York and other federal Districts to receive service of process.[3] TransAtlantic Lines had no collective bargaining agreements with seagoing unions.[4]

History

M/V Geysir was TransAtlantic's first ship.

In 1997, Gudmundur Kjærnested decided to start a shipping company to serve the Iceland route.[5] 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.[5] Kjarnested is a citizen of Iceland and U.S. resident alien[6] who was married on May 20, 2000 to U.S.-national Margaret Elizabeth Bozzi.[7] He is also president of Atlantsskip in Reykjavik, Iceland.[7] The two were originally even partners in both ventures, and are also the primary owners of the Icelandic company TransAtlantic Lines-Iceland EHF (TLI).[8][5][6] Shortly thereafter, they accepted an offer from shipping company American Automar to purchase the company.

TAL Timeline

The company made several preparations to bid for the Iceland contract. 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.[9] One of the pledged vessels was the supply boat Native Dancer.[9]

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.[10] Observers speculate that the bids were from the Icelandic company Eimskip, Dutch shipping company Van Ommeren, Atlantsskip, TransAtlantic Lines, and TransAtlantic Lines Iceland.[5] 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.[9][10] 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.[10]

Within a month, TransAtlantic re-flagged Juno to the United States and renamed it Geysir at the Port of Jacksonville.[11] 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"[9] Shipping companies Van Ommeren Lines (USA) and Eimskip of Iceland, which had previously serviced the Iceland route, sued the United States protesting the award.[9] The district court found for Van Ommeren and Eimskip, requiring the Army to restart the bidding process.[9] 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.[9]

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.[12][13] This contract extended until June 30, 2004.[13] The government announced the requirements for the charter on the World Wide Web on December 4, 2000, and seven bids were received.[13] Military Traffic and Management Command in Alexandria, Virginia, is the contracting activity.[13] The company uses the tugboat Spence and its barge the Guantanamo Bay Express make the twice-monthly trip between Jacksonville and Guantanamo Bay.[12] Each leg of the trip takes approximately 4 and 1/2 days and covers approximately 1,000 miles (1,600 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.[14] At the time of the accident, the vessels were experiencing thirty knot wind gusts and 12-foot (3.7 m) seas.[14] Extensive bottom damage and breaches to all port side voids were reported.[14] The barge was refloated and delivered to the owners the following day.[14] The vessels were owned by Pac-Atlantic Marine Leasing, LCC at the time.[15]

In 2004, Carsten Rehder affiliate company Rehder & Arkon bought MV Steamers Future in April 2004, and renamed her MV Baffin Strait. Rehder & Arkon chartered her for 6 months to Mariana Express Lines, and sold her to TransAtlantic Lines in late October 2004.[16] TransAtlantic Lines bought her for US$6.3M.[17][18]

MV Baffin Strait circa 2007.

MV Baffin Strait is one of Military Sealift Command's seven container ships and is part of the 28 ships in the Sealift Program Office.[19] Since 2004, the ship, often referred to as the 'DGAR shuttle,' has been chartered to deliver 250 containers each month from Singapore to Diego Garcia.[20] 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."[20] On the return trip back to Singapore, she carries recyclable metals.[21] In 2004, TransAtlantic Lines outbid Sealift Incorporated for the contract to haul cargo between Singapore and Diego Garcia.[4] The route had previously been serviced by Sealift Inc.'s MV Sagamore which was manned by members of American Maritime Officers and Seafarer's International Union.[4] TransAtlantic Lines reportedly won the contract by approximately 10 percent, representing a price difference of about $2.7 million.[4]

As a result of winning this contract, the US Navy gave the Baffin Strait the hull classification symbol (T-AK W9519). The T-AK series symbol is given to the seven container ships chartered by MSC but owned and operated by contractors.[22] The Baffin Strait's 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.[23]

In 2006, TransAtlantic bought the MT Bonito, then registered in Sweden, from Donsö Shipping KB for $13,000,000, and renamed it MT TransPacific.[24][25][26][27] On 20 July 2006, the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command announced the charter for the Transpacific.[28] The charter, which commenced 1 October 2006, is a one-year firm-fixed-price contract of $6,879,520 with additional reimbursables.[28] The contract includes three additional one-year option periods and one 11-month option period which can total $25,589,458 plus additional reimbursables.[28]

In each charter period, the government has the right to cancel after 60 days with 10 days notice.[28] After each initial 60-day period, the government can cancel the charter with 30 days notice.[28] 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.[28] This contract was competitively procured with more than 85 proposals solicited and three offers received.[28]

The charter had previously been held by MV Montauk, operated by Sealift Incorporated.[29] Sealift Incorporated protested the charter award with the Government Accounting Office (GAO), claiming that TransAtlantic Lines understated its fuel-consumption costs.[30] The GAO denied this protest, as well as an additional technical complaint about what business entity actually employed crewmembers.[30]

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, Azores.[31] 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.[31]

As of 2010, TransAtlantic Lines owns and operates 5 vessels, including one tug-and-barge combination. Four of these vessels are chartered by the Military Sealift Command, and perform duties such as delivering cargo to U.S. military activities in Diego Garcia and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. TransAtlantic Lines has no collective bargaining agreements with seagoing unions.[4]

Fleet

Name Type Owns Operates Length Delivery
Date		 Gross
Tonnage		 Image
MV Geysir General cargo ship[32] Yes Yes 83.5152 m (LBP) 1 June 1980 2,266
MV TransAtlantic General cargo ship/container ship[33] Yes Yes 100.59 m (LOA) 1997 4,276
MT Transpacific Petroleum tanker[34] Yes Yes 109.1 m (LOA) 2001 3,469
Barge Guantanamo Bay Express Deck cargo barge[35] Yes Yes 76.2 m (LBP) 1 September 1983 2,529
Tugboat Spence Tugboat[36] Yes Yes 27.7764 m (LBP) 1 September 1974 189

All equipment was sold at auction or other except TUG SPENCE that sank with crew abandoning to the safety of the barge in tow

Contracts

U.S. government contract payments to TransAtlantic Lines over $10,000 from 2001 to 23 January 2011.

Date Amount Contract Vessel Notes References
24 September 2001 $2,795,870 DAMT01-98-D-9612 : 0371: P00006 Geysir Exercise option [37]
13 February 2002 $5,974,590 DAMT01-02-D-0025 : 0063 Spence [37]
1 October 2002 $1,841,842 DAMT01-98-D-9612 : 2003 Geysir [37][38]
22 October 2002 $34,125 N68836-03-P-0099 Jacksonville, small purchase/rental [37]
12 March 2003 $7,895,215 DAMT01-02-D-0025 : 0842: P00005 Spence Jacksonville, Exercise an Option [37]
1 October 2003 $126,481 DAMT01-03-D-0128 : 1257 97-0300:Procurement Defense-wide [37]
1 October 2003 $3,484,272 DAMT01-02-D-0025 : 1159 Spence [37]
10 October 2003 $1,586,151 DAMT01-98-D-9612 : 1211: P00008 Geysir Change Order [37]
13 January 2004 $3,934,745 W81GYE-04-D-0022: 0248 Norfolk [37]
13 January 2004 $-1,384,076 W81GYE-04-D-0022: 1176: P00005 Funding Only Action, Norfolk [37]
4 March 2004 $6,201,526 DAMT01-02-D-0025 : 0276: P00014 Spence Norfolk [37]
1 October 2004 $983,686 W81GYE-04-D-0022 : 0105 Norfolk [37]
15 October 2004 $3,984,700 N00033-05-C-5500 Baffin Strait Singapore [37]
9 December 2004 $-175,700 N00033-05-C-5500: P00001 Baffin Strait Funding Only Action, Singapore [37]
10 January 2005 $-250,800 N00033-05-C-5500: P00002 Baffin Strait Funding Only Action, Singapore [37]
13 January 2005 $2,951,064 W81GYE-04-D-0022 : 9084: 8 Exercise an Option [37]
25 January 2005 $4,991,610 DAMT01-02-D-0025  : 0305: 17 Spence Exercise an Option, Jacksonville [37]
25 January 2005 $8,127,917 DAMT01-02-D-0025 : 9065: 17 Spence Change Order, Jacksonville [37]
25 January 2005 $1,274,286 DAMT01-02-D-0025 : 0305 Spence Jacksonville [37]
1 March 2005 $320,805 DAMT01-03-D-0128 : 9070: 7 Exercise an Option [37]
22 March 2005 $16,000 DAMT01-02-D-0025 : 9050: 18 Spence Change Order, Jacksonville [37]
18 May 2005 $764,572 DAMT01-02-D-0025 : 9052: 19 Spence Change Order, Jacksonville [37]
7 July 2005 $798,553 DAMT01-02-D-0025 : 9054: 21 Spence Change Order, Jacksonville [37]
1 September 2005 $15,000 DAMT01-03-D-0128 : 9848: 10 Change Order [37]
16 September 2005 $3,186,278 DAMT01-02-D-0025 : 9057: 22 Spence Change Order, Jacksonville [37]
1 October 2005 $3,818,250 N00033-05-C-5500: P00003 Baffin Strait Exercise an Option, Singapore [37]
31 March 2006 $1,062,093 DAMT01-02-D-0025 : 9001: 25 Spence Funding action, Jacksonville [37]
12 May 2006 $1,144,326 DAMT01-02-D-0025 : 9001: 28 Spence Funding action, Jacksonville [37]
7 June 2006 $2,300,000 W81GYE-04-D-0022 : 9001: 17 Change Order, Norfolk [37]
30 June 2006 $4,515,374 W81GYE-06-D-0117 : 9001 Jacksonville [37]
21 July 2006 $11,843,664 N00033-06-C-5409 TransPacific Charter hire [37]
13 October 2006 $4,668,250 N00033-05-C-5500: P00006 Baffin Strait Funding Only Action [37]
14 December 2006 $7,309,530 N00033-05-C-5500: P00007 Baffin Strait Funding Only Action [37]
27 December 2006 $-4,668,250 N00033-05-C-5500: P00008 Baffin Strait Funding deobligation [37]
27 August 2007 $449,000 N00033-07-C-5234 W020: Lease or Rental of Equipment: Lump-sum freight rate, Greece to Israel [37]
17 October 2007 $1,700,000 N00033-06-C-5409: P00003 TransPacific FY08 funding to cover cost of exercising option period [37]
30 October 2007 $5,139,018 N00033-06-C-5409: P00004 TransPacific [37]
31 October 2007 $180,735 N00033-07-C-5234: P00001 W020: Lump-sum freight rate, Greece to Israel, modification for demurrage [37]
6 June 2008 $100,000 N00033-06-C-5409: P00005 TransPacific BUNKERS [37]
26 August 2008 $1,700,000 N00033-06-C-5409: P00006 TransPacific Charter hire [37]
27 September 2007 $3,928,300 N00033-05-C-5500: P00010 Baffin Strait Option period 3 charter hire [37]
29 October 2008 $8,839,018 N00033-06-C-5409: P00007 TransPacific Exercise an Option, Charter hire [37]
30 October 2008 $3,758,200 N00033-05-C-5500: P00012 Baffin Strait FY 09 funding [37]
3 February 2009 $15,078,334 HTC711-09-D-0006 Geysir includes base year with 2 options [39][40]
22 October 2009 $422,000 N00033-05-C-5500: P00014 Baffin Strait Option period 3 charter hire [37]
30 October 2009 $6,444,270 N00033-06-C-5409: P00008 TransPacific Charter hire, option three funding [37]
18 November 2009 $-5,000 HTC711-09-D-0006 : 0001: 1 Geysir Minimum contract value already satisfied [37]
23 November 2009 $50,250 N00033-05-C-5500: P00015 Baffin Strait Option period 3, charter hire [37]
23 November 2009 $1,332,000 N00033-10-C-5500 Baffin Strait Hire for 72 days [37]
1 December 2009 $144,104 N00033-10-C-5500: P00002 Baffin Strait Additional funding for fuel [37]
7 January 2010 $25,969 N00033-05-C-5500: P00016 Baffin Strait Last hire [37]
3 March 2010 $229,000 N00033-10-C-5203 Hire [37]
4 May 2010 $-15,719 N00033-05-C-5500: P00017 Baffin Strait Option period 3 charter hire [37]
5 May 2010 $15,719 N00033-05-C-5500: P00018 Baffin Strait Option period 3 charter hire [37]

References

  1. ↑ Marad, 2007b.
  2. 1 2 Dun and Bradstreet, 2007.
  3. ↑ "Transatlantic Lines". sites.google.com. Archived from the original on 14 September 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 American Maritime Officers (November 2004). "Non-union operator wins charter held by Sagamore". AMO Currents. Archived from the original on 2006-07-20. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Hefur inntak flutningasamningsins verið hunsað?" [Has input been ignored in the carriage contract?]. Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Reykjavík. 6 May 2000. Retrieved 2010-08-08.
  6. 1 2 Carelli, 2000.
  7. 1 2 New York Times, 2000.
  8. ↑ United States Court of Appeals, 2000.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 District of Columbia Circuit Court, 2000.
  10. 1 2 3 Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs), 1998.
  11. ↑ U.S.C.G. 2001, case number MI99036165.
  12. 1 2 Joseph A. Morris; Chris S. Pisano (2002-07-05). "Living and dying by the barge" (PDF). The Wire. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-05-09. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
  13. 1 2 3 4 "U.S. Department of Defense". U.S. Department of Defense.
  14. 1 2 3 4 "Titan Beats Time Before Barge Breaks Up". Maritime Journal. Mercator Media. 2005-01-01. Archived from the original on 2013-01-28. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
  15. ↑ "Guantanamo bound barge grounds". MarineLog.com. 2004-11-12. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
  16. ↑ Rehder & Arkon (October 2004). "Rehder & Arkon sold MV BAFFIN STRAIT". www.rehder-arkon.de. Rehder & Arkon. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
  17. ↑ "October 2004 Sales". shiplink.info. Archived from the original on 2007-08-07. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
  18. ↑ Scheepvaartnieuws (2004-10-26). "Sales" (PDF). Daily Shipping Newsletter. Vlierodam Wire Ropes Ltd. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 22, 2006. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
  19. ↑ "MSC Baffin Strait Page". Archived from the original on 2009-05-05. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
  20. 1 2 Change at the helm for MSC's Diego Garcia office Archived August 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  21. ↑ Commander, Navy Installations Command (CNIC) (2007). "2006 Pollution Provention and Solid Waste Success Stories" (PDF). U.S. Department of the Navy. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
  22. ↑ "MV Baffin Strait". Military Sealift Command Ship Inventory. Military Sealift Command. 2006-10-24. Archived from the original on 2009-05-05. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
  23. ↑ "MSC Procurement Spreadsheet".
  24. ↑ "Bye Shipgaz, Hello Seably". www.shipgaz.com.
  25. ↑ DNV Exchange – TRANSPACIFIC – Previous Managers
  26. ↑ DNV Exchange – TRANSPACIFIC – Previous Flags
  27. ↑ DNV Exchange – TRANSPACIFIC – Previous Owners
  28. ↑ American Maritime Officers (November 2008). "Vessel acquisition brings new jobs for AMO aboard Overseas Harriette". AMO Currents. Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2008-03-10.
  29. 1 2 Sealift, Inc., B-298588 (U.S. Government Accounting Office 2006-11-13).
  30. 1 2 Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs), 2009.
  31. ↑ "Geysir (8004244)". ABS Record. American Bureau of Shipping.
  32. ↑ "DNV Exchange: Vessel Baffin Strait (25708)". DNV Vessel Register. DNV. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
  33. ↑ "DNV Exchange: Vessel Transpacific (25183)". DNV Vessel Register. DNV. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
  34. ↑ "Guantanamo Bay Express (8305329)". ABS Record. American Bureau of Shipping.
  35. ↑ "Spence (7420037)". ABS Record. American Bureau of Shipping.
  36. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 "Searching on USAspending.gov". www.usaspending.gov.
  37. ↑ U.S. Department of Defense, 14 February 2002.
  38. ↑ "TransAtlantic Lines LLC Contract to the United States Transportation Command given on 2/3/2009 in support of the Military-Industrial Complex". Archived from the original on 2010-12-20. Retrieved 2011-01-25.
  39. ↑ http://www.sddc.army.mil/sddc/Content/Pub/45358/HTC711-09-D-0006.pdf%5B%5D
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