Specialized Cargo Ship Connects Port of San Diego, Hawaiian Ports

Thursday, 14 October 2010
Contact: Barbara Moreno (619) 686-6216

You may have seen its hulking profile as it sails through San Diego Bay on its way to its homeport, the Port of San Diego's National City Marine Terminal.

The Jean Anne, operated by Pasha Hawaii, is 10-stories high and can carry 3,000 cars, buses, trucks and other oversize cargo. While there are containers, most of the cargo can't fit into a box. Launched in 2005, the Jean Anne is a roll-on roll-off carrier, catering to customers on the mainland and in Hawaii. The ship comes into the Port of San Diego every two weeks.

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"Customers asked for fast and efficient Ro-Ro service and we responded to their needs," said Frank Cerrito, General Manager of Pasha Automotive Services. "The Jean Anne was built under the Jones Act, which is American made, American run. That allows her to make that trade run to the Hawaiian ports."

It ferries everything from school buses, to piping, roller coasters for the Hawaii state fair, mobile homes, yachts and military equipment — including Blackhawk helicopters. To transport the choppers, mechanics fold up the blades and the aircraft are rolled aboard.

The Jean Anne also helps our nation's servicemen and women who need to relocate to and from Hawaii.

"Their items are placed in 'van packs,' Cerrito explained "Inside are military personal goods that are being relocated to Pearl Harbor."

The goods are transported by the Jean Anne "back and forth from the mainland," he said.

In addition to the military, rental car agencies are also big customers.

"There's somewhere between 150,000 to 180,000 cars – that go back and forth to Hawaii – a majority of them are rental cars," said Mike Caswell, Senior Vice President, Pasha Stevedoring and Terminals. Those rental cars are used by many people that vacation in Hawaii, he said.

Even Hollywood has hopped a ride aboard the Jean Anne. Universal Pictures recently hired Pasha to transport trailers, wagons and camera boats to Hawaii where they are filming the movie, "Battleship."

"Pasha Hawaii is one of the great success stories at the Port of San Diego," said Joel Valenzuela, Director of Maritime Operations. "It's exceeded our expectations in terms of volumes, types of cargo that it has been bringing in and out, and also in terms of revenue. It's actually one of the very few commodities of lines of business that have done well in the recession."

The Jean Anne also means jobs for the city of National City. At any given time there are about 200 people contributing to the loading and offloading of the ship.

"There are a lot of jobs with this vessel," Cerrito said. "A lot of longshoremen and marine clerk jobs for her. In addition, it also feeds our automotive side of it too, with some rental car return business that we're doing, including some detailing."

Here are some additional facts about the ship:

• The Jean Anne is named after the wife of the company's founder, George Pasha Sr.
• The Pasha Group is a transportation and logistics company that has been family-owned and operated for three generations.
• Pasha just recently celebrated its 20th anniversary as a Port of San Diego tenant and partner.
• The Jean Anne underwent retrofitting in response to environmental regulations in California. The ship is burning marine diesel oil, a lighter and cleaner fuel.
• The Jean Anne participates in the Port of San Diego's voluntary vessel speed reduction program in an effort to reduce air emissions in the vicinity of San Diego Bay.

Pasha officials say they are proud to have been granted permission by the Hawaiian Public Utilities Commission in September 2010, to begin operation as an intrastate carrier between Hawaiian ports. The company requested the new routes to serve existing customers.

"As much success as we've had in the past 5 years, that trade lane has been thirsting for competition for a long time. It's something we're certainly supportive of and excited to see grow," said Valenzuela.

For more information, visit PashaHawaii.com.