Horizon Lines, Inc. was an American domestic ocean shipping and logistics company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was the largest Jones Act-compliant maritime shipping and logistics company, and accounted for approximately 37 per cent of all U.S. container shipments linking the continental United States to Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.[2] Under the Jones Act, maritime shipments between U.S. ports is restricted to U.S.-built, owned, and flagged vessels operated by predominantly U.S.-citizen crews. The company originated from Sea-Land Service, Inc. The domestic liner operations of Sea-Land were sold in 2003 and thereafter operated under the name Horizon Lines. Horizon became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange in 2005.[3] In 2015 the company was acquired by Matson Navigation Company.
Scope of operations
Horizon owned a fleet of 13 Jones Act-compliant container ships as recently as 2014, approximately 31,000 cargo containers, and operated cargo terminals in Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico.[4] Approximately 150 port calls were made each year in Tacoma, Washington for service between Alaska or Hawaii.[5]