News – Page 41 – Pacific Maritime Magazine

Seaspan Shipyards Investing $1.35M in Indigenous Marine Skills Training

Seaspan Shipyards says it is committing a $1.35 million investment to increase training and apprenticeship opportunities for Indigenous students aged 19 through 30 interested in building a career in the trades, including in the growing shipbuilding and marine sector. The three-year investment is being made in the Aboriginal Community Career Employment Services Society (ACCESS), a non-profit organization that has been providing education and employment training for the urban Indigenous community since 1999. Seaspan’s investment, which was announced in June, supports skills upgrading and technical training in welding and metal fabrication through the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT). Beginning in…

Royal Caribbean Becomes 1st Cruise Line to Return to Alaska

On July 19, the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Serenade of the Seas kicked off the summer season when it departed for Alaska as part of the first of a series of seven-night cruises from its home port of Seattle. The sailing marked a celebratory moment for the cruise industry, local workforce, regional suppliers and Alaska communities that were significantly impacted by the absence of all cruise tourism, which normally represents more than 60% of the state’s visitors and generates upwards of $3 billion for its economy each year. “Cruising in Alaska is finally back, and we are excited to be…

FMC to Audit Ocean Carriers’ Detention, Demurrage Practices

The Federal Maritime Commission has established a new audit program and dedicated audit team to assess carrier compliance with the agency’s rule on detention and demurrage as well as to provide additional information beneficial to the regular monitoring of the marketplace for ocean cargo services. The “Vessel-Operating Common Carrier Audit Program” was established July 19 at the direction of FMC Chair Daniel B. Maffei and launched immediately. The audit program will, according to the Commission, analyze the top nine carriers by market share for compliance with FMC rules relating to detention and demurrage practices in the United States. The Commission…

Nichols Brothers Delivers 4th Foss Tug

Freeland, Wash.-based Nichols Brothers Boat Builders has delivered the fourth ASD-90 tractor tug in a four-vessel series to Seattle-headquartered Foss Maritime, NBBB has revealed. NBBB completed and delivered the four-vessel build series—the m/v Jamie Ann, m/v Sarah Avrick, m/v Leisa Florence, and lastly, the m/v Rachael Allen—during the period between April 2020 and June 2021. Two vessels are to be stationed in Los Angeles/Long Beach, while the other two will be in the San Francisco Bay providing escort and assist services to large tankers and containerships calling on the California ports. The ASD-90 Class tugs were designed by Seattle-based Jensen…

Northwest Ports Aim to Eliminate Shipping-Related Emissions by 2050

By Guthrie Scrimgeour Port operators in the Pacific Northwest have set a goal to eliminate shipping-related emissions throughout the Georgia Basin-Puget Sound waterway by 2050. The effort involves the Port of Seattle, Port of Tacoma, Northwest Seaport Alliance container terminals, and the Port of Vancouver. The governing bodies of these four organizations in April formally approved the Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy 2020, which builds on an earlier clean air plan enacted in 2008. The updated document calls on the ports to voluntarily reduce air and greenhouse gas emissions in support of the 2050 emissions goal. More detailed port-specific plans…

New Moves to Green the Los Angeles and Long Beach Ports

By Gordon Feller An important case study published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is focused on the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The research aimed to assess their community engagement on reducing emissions and setting a goal of zero-emissions for trucks and cargo equipment at the ports. It also examined what impact their activities could have with regard to encouraging other ports to follow suit. “The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have taken important steps to work with local stakeholders in the community to reduce diesel emissions. They should be applauded for those efforts,” Congresswoman…

LA Port, Wabtec Team Up to Launch Cargo Volume Forecaster

The Port of Los Angeles in July announced that it has launched “Horizon,” a long-term cargo volume predictive feature that offers cargo owners, terminal operators, truckers and other supply chain stakeholders the capability to gauge movement of containers at the port up to six months in advance. Horizon is an added feature of the port’s “Control Tower” service, a cargo flow planning and prediction tool that launched earlier this year. “We’re proud to break ground with this new forecasting tool, which is the first of its kind,” said port of LA Executive Director Gene Seroka. “The Horizon predictive technology is…

BNSF Temporarily Restricts Flow of Intermodal Containers out of LA, Long Beach Ports

For two weeks beginning July 18, BNSF Railway limited the flow of international containers from the Los Angeles-Long Beach seaport complex to the railroad’s Logistics Park Chicago intermodal terminal in order to deal with a backlog of intermodal cargo traffic at the terminal. “The rate of containers tendered to us on the West Coast continues to exceed the rate of out-gates from Logistics Park Chicago,” railway spokeswoman Amy Casas is quoted as saying in a July 19 trains.com report. “We are confident in our ability to process and unload volume at the rate that we are seeing demand on the…

Port of Oakland Launches Zero-Emissions Truck Project

The Port of Oakland and its logistics partners have launched a battery electric truck demonstration project on its path to zero emissions at the Oakland Seaport. In mid-July, the port debuted 10 new battery electric trucks at Shippers Transport Express (STE), a port-based trucking operation. The Peterbilt trucks cost a total of $5.1 million and are used to haul cargo within the port’s maritime area. Funding for the trucks comes from a ZANZEFF grant (Zero and Near-Zero-Emission Freight Facility) program. The battery electric truck demonstration project is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It expands options for another clean, cargo-handling…

Seaspan Orders 6 New Containerships

London-based containership fleet operator Seaspan Corp. has entered into agreements with a major shipyard for six 15,000 TEU newbuilds, the company has revealed. “The modern high-quality containerships are anticipated to begin deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2023, and upon completion will enter long-term charters with a global liner,” the company stated in a March announcement that did not name the liner or the shipyard that will build the vessels. The containerships are anticipated to be financed from existing liquidity and additional borrowings, the company has said. Seaspan has also stated that it will continue to enhance its fleet composition…