Man makes his own shipwreck, but Smit Internationale has the favor of Neptune on its side. In business for some 170 years, Smit is a global provider of marine salvage services. It is known for its historic retrieval of the Russian nuclear submarine Kursk. Smit company also transports freight in oceangoing, coastal, and river barges, and operates sheerlegs -- floating cranes used in offshore and inland construction projects. Other Smit divisions provide ocean and harbor towage services and manage marine terminals. Smit Internationale N.V. operates a fleet of more than 400 vessels, including about 230 tugboats. In April 2010, Smit was acquired by dredging company Royal Boskalis Westminster for E1.4 billion (about $2 billion).

Danaos Corporation engages in the ownership and operation of containerships, as well as chartering of its vessels to liner companies in Greece and internationally. The company’s fleet consists of 49 containerships aggregating 216,529 twenty foot equivalent units (TEU). It also has a contracted fleet of 16 additional containerships aggregating 149,150 TEU with scheduled deliveries up to 2012. The company was formerly known as Danaos Holdings Limited and changed its name to Danaos Corporation on October 7, 2005. Danaos Corporation was founded in 1972 and is based in Athens, Greece.

One of the regional less-than-truckload (LTL) freight haulers operated by YRC Regional Transportation, USF Reddaway does business in the western US and in western Canada. (LTL carriers consolidate freight from multiple shippers into a single truckload.) The carrier operates a fleet of some 2,300 tractors and 7,700 trailers from a network of about 70 terminals. It serves about a dozen states and two Canadian provinces. USF Reddaway extends its service into additional regions of the US through connections with other YRC Regional Transportation carriers, including USF Holland.

Exmar currently operates vessels in Belgium, Hong Kong, India, Luxembourg, Norway, Panama, and Singapore. Exmar is one of the largest independent shipping groups in the world serving the international oil and gas industry. It currently manages a fleet of more than 40 LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) tankers including ethylene, midsized gas, very large gas, pressurized, and semi-refrigerated carriers. The vessels transport liquefied gases such as anhydrous ammonia, butane, petrochemicals, and propane. A smaller fleet of carriers transports liquefied natural gas. Some of its ships are owned; however, a majority are chartered either short or long term.

Gardner Trucking carrier operates in about a dozen Western states. Its fleet of 855 tractors and trailers includes trailing equipment includes dry vans, roller vans, curtain vans, double curtain vans, flatbeds, and double flatbeds. Gardner Trucking operates two terminals, in Chino (near Los Angeles) and in Tracy (near Sacramento, San Francisco, and Stockton). The company also offers logistics services. Gardner Trucking was established in 1974 by Ron Gardner. The company was acquired in 1987 by President Ron Lanting.

FastShip is developing a high-speed container vessel that would allow the company to transport freight across the Atlantic in less than four days. Finding money to build the ships has taken much longer, however. Once financing has been arranged, Spanish shipyard IZAR is to begin construction of the first three vessels. Loading systems and terminals have been designed for the FastShip system; plans call for the first two terminals to be in Philadelphia and Cherbourg, France. FastShip hopes eventually to serve other shipping lanes, as well.

Like a little acorn, Oak Harbor Freight Lines has grown -- into a mighty interstate less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier. (LTL carriers consolidate cargo from multiple shippers into a single truckload.) The company operates from about 35 terminals in California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington; it maintains a fleet of some 500 tractors and 1,800 trailers. It serves the rest of the US through partnerships with LTL carriers such as Dayton Freight, Honolulu Freight Service, New England Motor Freight, and Southeastern Freight Lines. Oak Harbor is owned and run by brothers David and Edward Vander Pol. The company was founded in 1916 and acquired by the Vander Pol family in 1936.

One of Germany's largest family-owned enterprises, Dr. August Oetker is the holding company for the diversified Oetker Group, which has interests in shipping (Hamburg Sud), food (frozen pizza and baking mixes), beer and nonalcoholic beverages, and wine, sparkling wine, and spirits. The company's shipping division, its largest, has operations worldwide; Oetker Group's food and spirits businesses are concentrated in Europe. Other Oetker Group activities include banking and insurance, book publishing, chemical manufacturing, and luxury hotels. Not only are beer and pizza staples of many a college student's diet, they are also key elements of Dr. August Oetker's business portfolio.

Annett Holdings hauls freight such as steel and building materials throughout the US on flatbed trailers. The company's fleet includes some 2,900 trucks and tractors. TMC offers both regional and long-haul service and also provides logistics services, such as freight transportation arrangement, and dedicated fleet services, in which drivers and equipment are assigned to a customer long-term. Chairman and CEO Harrold Annett founded the company in 1972.

The main US arm of Toronto-based company Vitran, Vitran Express provides less-than-truckload (LTL) freight transportation services. (LTL carriers consolidate freight from multiple shippers into a single truckload.) Vitran Express operates from a network of about 110 terminals in about 30 states in the midwestern, mid-Atlantic, southwestern, and western US. The company extends service elsewhere in the US through alliances with other LTL carriers. In addition, Vitran Express partners with its parent's Canadian LTL unit to offer cross-border service.

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