News – Page 39 – Pacific Maritime Magazine

BC Ferries’ Island Class Vessels Run New Routes

BC Ferries recently welcomed new Gabriola-Nanaimo Harbour route commuters on its Island Class vessels. The addition of the new routes allows BC Ferries to bolster capacity and sailing frequency to support commuters and school children leaving Gabriola, according to the transport agency. One vessel is scheduled to run an 18-hour service while a second vessel is to run at the busiest 12-hour time of the day, allowing for more passenger and vehicle capacity throughout the day. Each ferry can carry 47 vehicles, is battery-equipped to become fully electric in the future and outfitted with hybrid technology. Both also have exteriors…

Operation of Three Illegal Charter Boats Suspended in San Diego

U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Diego recently stopped three charter boats that had been illegally operating in San Diego Bay, officials confirmed April 14. The three charters were shut down because of “unsafe overloading conditions, insufficient lifesaving equipment and failure to provide a qualified or licensed operator while carrying passengers for hire,” according to the USCG. The vessels cannot operate, the USCG said, until they can prove that they have met all valid charter requirements. “Illegal charters are a serious risk to their passengers and to other boat operators on the water,” Sector San Diego Cmdr. Ronald Caputo said. “There…

Stranded Container Vessel Towed to San Francisco Bay

The Wan Hai 176, a Singapore-flagged container ship, recently had to be towed to San Francisco Bay after losing engine power. The 564-foot vessel, which carried 21 people and 783 containers filled with miscellaneous material, was anchored about seven miles off the coast of Point Reyes on April 10 when the U.S. Coast Guard’s Unified Command coordinated the tow to anchorage in the San Francisco Bay. The 112-foot tug Delta Deanna passed tow lines to Wan Hai 176 crew members and towed the container ship with escort tugs Stacey Foss, Delta Billie, Delta Deanna and Rachel Allen. When the vessel…

Initial Findings of Benicia Port Fire Investigation Point Toward Accidental Causes

A fire at the Port of Benicia that damaged part of the port pier during the weekend of April 9 may have started “on or near the lower portion of the coke conveyor belt system near the base of the silos,” according to initial findings announced by Benicia Fire Chief Josh Chadwick on April 12. The fire, a four-alarm blaze, started at the base of the petroleum coke silo midday on a Saturday, then apparently spread under the pier. Fire crews fought the blaze through the night before it was fully extinguished Sunday afternoon. “The fire appears to be unintentional…

Port of Oakland to Welcome New Logistics Tenant

PCC Logistics is becoming a tenant at CenterPoint Landing, a massive new warehouse at the Port of Oakland’s Seaport Logistics Complex, the port revealed in April. The new facility is expected to help ease the flow of goods at the Oakland seaport. The logistics company, based just outside Oakland, inked a lease in January for the 27-acre site with CenterPoint Properties, which completed the more than 460,000-square-foot warehouse in 2021. “This effectively marks the launch of the port’s Seaport Logistics Complex, a long-awaited re-use of land that was once occupied by the U.S. Army,” port Executive Director Danny Wan said.…

New Floating Fireboat Station Opens in San Francisco

On March 10, San Francisco civil and harbor officials opened the long-awaiting floating Fireboat Station No. 35 at Pier 22½, north of the Bay Bridge. The new two-story, 14,900-square-foot station will house the city’s fireboat and marine rescue watercraft fleet and a rotating crew of 21 fire personnel. The $50.5 million project was a design-build effort involving Power Engineering Construction Co., Swinerton, Shah Kawasaki Architects and Liftech Consultants. It sits on a 173-foot-long-by-96-foot-wide steel float that’s anchored by four guide piles. “Part of being able to respond quickly and efficiently to emergencies is investing in state-of-the-art equipment to support our…

Port of Benicia Devastated by Four Alarm Fire

The Port of Benicia, a small, privately operated port in the San Francisco Bay area, was devastated by a four-alarm fire in April. The port, which is operated by Amports, a Maryland-based auto processing company, saw the blaze erupt in the early afternoon of Saturday, April 9, according to the City of Benicia, in the 1000 block of Bayshore Boulevard, next to the Amports port terminal. Benicia Fire Chief Josh Chadwick said that when fire crews arrived, the blaze was burning upward from a conveyer belt toward a docked tanker ship. “While responding, we received updates that the fire (was)…

San Pedro Bay Ports Begin Collecting Clean Truck Fee

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach on April 1 began collecting a $10 per TEU rate on loaded import and export containers moved by drayage trucks coming and going from terminals. The ports are working toward reaching zero-emissions for drayage trucks by 2035 and revenue from the fee goes toward the Clean Truck Fund, which was established to help pay for the transition to cleaner trucks and create the funds needed to speed up zero-emissions technology development. About $90 million could be generated in the first year toward that effort, according to the ports. The ports have hired…

Anchorage Mayor Proposes Renaming Port After Late Congressman

Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson announced on March 21 that he wants to rechristen the Port of Alaska to honor the late Congressman Don Young (R-AK), who died three days earlier. A news release from the mayor’s office stated that Bronson plans to seek approval from the state Assembly to convene a citizen panel and start the process to rename the port the “Don Young Port of Alaska.” The mayor called Young a champion for the state and a big supporter of the port. As chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Young was instrumental in bringing federal dollars to…

Port of San Diego Adding Electric Vehicles to Fleet

More than a dozen electric vehicles (EV) are scheduled to arrive next year at the Port of San Diego. Port commissioners recently voted to spend $820,000 to buy 14 electric vehicles from National Auto Fleet Group. The 10 medium-duty pickup trucks and four vans will launch the port’s conversion to a zero-emissions fleet, replacing gas or diesel-powered vehicles, the port said March 9. The purchase puts into action the port’s Maritime Clean Air Strategy goals set forth by the community and other stakeholders, Dan Malcolm, chair of the Board of Port Commissioners said. “Not only is our approach to improving…