Cargo ships begin to drop off much-needed goods at Naval Base Ventura County
With recent pressures on the supply chain, officials say this will alleviate bottlenecking at larger congested ports.
PORT OF HUENEME, Calif. (KABC) -- There's a new avenue in Southern California that's getting shipping containers carrying much needed goods for you and your family off of cargo ships and onto store shelves.
The Port of Hueneme, a Ventura County military installation, recently secured a new charter vessel with FedEx Logistics last year and the first set of FedEx containers arrived from China on Monday. They were offloaded from the ship to the docks.
With recent pressures on the supply chain, officials say this will alleviate shoreside and waterborne bottlenecking at larger congested ports - like the ports in Los Angeles and Long Beach.
"Everybody wants to get more control over the supply chain," said CEO and Port Director Kristin Decas. "I think if this is successful, we'll have a long lasting partnership with FedEx and they'll be looking at how they can bring in larger ships with more volumes to really have a more significant dent on some of the challenges we're seeing in the supply chain."
The cargo will initially be staged on Navy property to avoid disruption to the critical existing services at the Port.
"This innovative, thinking outside the box was something we'd never done as we land dry cargo here on the Navy work behind me," said Capt. Robert Kimnach, the commander of the base.
Monday's operation is the first of multiple chartered vessels scheduled to come to the Port of Hueneme with the plan to schedule more over the next year. With FedEx-owned chassis lined up, the cargo will make a quick departure from the base to distribution facilities, which will already be lined up off-port.
"We have created a solution that cuts out our transit times in comparison to Los Angeles and Long Beach by more than 20 days," said Dr. Udo Lange, the President and CEO of FedEx Logistics. "Can you imagine? More than 20 less in transit for electronics, and so on."
According to the Port of Hueneme's website, the port has seen record imports and exports.
"Our slogan, We Make Cargo Move, is indicative of our reputation among Ports as one of the fastest through put ports in the nation and in this moment, through collaboration we can help make a dent in a national crisis. We thank FedEx for their business and look forward to a long-lasting relationship that creates market-based solutions for the benefit of the consumer," said Decas.
