About
Greenships was founded by Stas Margaronis, president of California-based Santa Maria Shipowning & Trading Inc. Stas has spent over a decade fighting to build new ships in the United States. He proposes ships powered by clean diesel fuel that will reduce long-haul trucking and cut truck carbon emissions. By law, ships operating between U.S. ports must be built in the United States, so the greenship effort will not only build greener ships, it will create new shipbuilding jobs, new mariner jobs and new cargo-handling jobs.
Stas is working with a Dutch design team to include the most fuel-efficient functions on to new ships including a diesel-electric engine that may one day deploy battery power for marine propulsion. The ships will also operate with improved hydrodynamics designs that will cut fuel and carbon emissions further. In 2009, Stas proposed to the California Air Resources Board (C.A.R.B.) that a daily container ship service carrying 300 containerized truckloads between Northern and Southern California and 300 back will cut most of the state’s goal of cutting 3.5 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions by 2020.
Stas has worked with the U.S. Coast Guard to get reduced manning permission to operate the ships in the United States as cost-efficiently as possible. He also made presentations to U.S. trucking companies about investing in ships for their long-haul trucking needs. In September, 2009 Santa Maria supported the Oregon Port of Astoria’s application for a U.S. Department of Transportation grant to operate a two ship service between Astoria and Southern California that could eliminate 100 long-haul truck trips per day.
1 Comment for About
Phelps Hobart, President, Pacific Merchant Marine Council, NLUS | December 16, 2010 at 10:48 pm
I am delighted to welcome Stas to our maritime industry Navy League council.
For 2011, the council has a focus on moving goods on West Coast marine highways.
In late October MARAD announced $30 million in federal recovery act dollars would be expended to pay for development of a three port (Oakland, Stockton, and Sacramento) partnership. Some of the funds will be used for dredging and port development but not all.
See MARAD news release # DOT 191-10, “Groundbreaking Ceremony Signals Start of ‘Green’ Marine Highway Project.”
http://www.marad.dot.gov/news_room_landing_page/news_releases_summary/news_release/DOT_191-10_news_release.htm
A good start, but as Stas clearly states there is more to making this a reality than this. All sorts of government approvals then their are the vessels. Barges and tugs are common but new U. S. built cargo ships would be welcomed. MARAD and the Military Sealift Command have some “roll on – roll off” ships commissioned and positioned to move goods for the military and state department. These could possibly be leased and put into service along the Pacific Coast.
If you also have an interest in Marine Highways especially along the Pacific Coast’s I-5 corridor and the greater San Francisco Bay area, we invite you to come aboard the Navy League and our council. In 2011 the council, in addition to other activities, will be lending its support to Stas’ vision. Heave Ho!