News – Page 42 – Pacific Maritime Magazine

Port of Oakland Creates New Maritime Division Role

Jason Garben has become the Port of Oakland’s project management services manager, a newly created role that is expected to be key in helping to “spearhead the port’s seaport development and modernization efforts,” officials said. Garben, a former development services director for the Northern California city of Suisun, came to the port as a senior maritime project administrator in 2017. In his new role, he reports to Maritime Director Bryan Brandes and oversees a four-member team tasked with planning infrastructure projects within the port, including marine terminals and support facilities. He also will work with revenue and operations management teams…

Demolition of POLB’s Gerald Desmond Bridge to Begin in May

An iconic Southern California bridge that served as a vital freight transportation link for decades is set to start coming down this spring. The Port of Long Beach is expected to begin demolishing the Gerald Desmond Bridge in May, work that would necessitate closing the waterway under the bridge to all vessel traffic from May 7-9. Vessel operators should anticipate the closure of the Back Channel from 6 a.m. on May 7 to 6 a.m. on May 9. During that time, crews are expected to dismantle the 527-foot-long main span of the bridge before it’s lowered onto a barge, according…

California Port Leaders, Lawmakers Discuss Global Supply-Chain Crisis

On Wednesday, Feb. 16, Danny Wan, president of the California Association of Port Authorities and executive director of the Port of Oakland, presented state lawmakers with a five-part plan to help ease congestion at West Coast ports. The plan includes identifying and allowing staging areas away from terminals for empty containers to ease bottlenecks and creating a California Office of Freight with a coordinator that could partner with the industry stakeholders. The goal is to develop a state freight-and-goods movement policy and add oversight for the deployment of federal infrastructure investments. “California lawmakers must take a holistic approach to addressing…

Seaspan Implementing Changes to its British Columbia Tug Services

Seaspan Marine Transportation confirmed in late February that its lease of the Roberts Bank tug basin at the Port of Vancouver in British Columbia will cease effective July 18, and that operations are relocating to a new facility. Seaspan has provided tugboat services at Roberts Bank for the Westshore and Deltaport terminals since 1975. However, from this July forward, Seaspan says, it will provide tug services to its customers at Westshore and Deltaport Terminals from its new facility. “Our modern, powerful ship docking and escort tugs will continue to be crewed and available 24/7 for ship docking, ship escort and…

Pacific Northwest Waterways Association Selects New Executive Director

A new executive director has taken over the helm of the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association. Industry veteran Heather Stebbings began in the leadership role on Feb. 15, assuming the position from Kristin Meira, who held the job for a decade. Meira is heading to American Cruise Lines to serve as the company’s director of government affairs, Pacific Northwest. Stebbings brings 15 years of experience in advocacy and public policy in the Puget Sound, including 13 years as PNWA’s communications and government relations director. She also served as marine services and government liaison for Shaver Transportation. She earned her bachelor’s degree…

Bay Ship & Yacht Leadership Transition

Bill Elliott, who during a 45-year career transformed Bay Ship & Yacht (BS&Y) into a San Francisco Bay ship-repair conglomerate, has announced a new generation of leadership for the diversified marine services provider. BS&Y’s beginnings were humble though, as Elliot first operated out of a single, mobile shipping container known as the “Shipyard in a Box.” In a transition that takes effect March 28, Joel Welter, the company’s chief naval architect, will become CEO, and Gerona Goethe, currently assistant general manager, rises to become general manager. Vice President Alan Cameron, who joined Elliott’s fledging BS&Y in 1979, currently serves as…

Port of Oakland Heading to Green Future

The Port of Oakland plans to continue investing in programs that support sustainable growth, Executive Director Danny Wan said in his annual State of the Port address on Feb. 2. Wan said this year’s theme is to “invest in and plan for a future that is not what used to be, but one that improves upon the past.” That includes offering punctual, transparent and uncongested cargo drop-offs while providing more entertainment and other options at the waterfront and enhancing shoreline parks access. “We must do all of the above by bringing into reality green energy technology and dig deep into…

USCG Cutter Polar Star Reaches Antarctica, on Verge of World Record

Crew members of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Polar Star were working with Guinness World Records to become the new official record holders of being able to reach the planet’s southernmost navigable waters. While traveling the Bay of Whales ice harbor near Antarctica in February, the Seattle-based cutter surpassed USCG cutter Polar Sea’s 1997 Guinness World Record, reaching “a position of 78 degrees, 44 minutes, 1.32 seconds south latitude at 12:55 p.m. (Feb. 17) New Zealand time, holding a distance of approximately 500 yards from the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf,” according to the agency. Polar Star traveled in…

Technology Key to Vision at Long Beach, Los Angeles Ports

Leaders at the nation’s busiest seaport complex said Tuesday, March 1 that leaning into digital transformation and preparing for volume growth in the coming years will be a major part of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach’s vision for the future. At the Journal of Commerce’s TPM22 Conference, which was held Feb. 22 through March 2 in Long Beach, Calif., Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero and Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka spoke about working together to ease present congestion at their docks and how handling that congestion will shape their future vision.…

Port of San Francisco Receives Funding for Waterfront Risk Study

The Port of San Francisco recently received a financial boost to its effort to study flood, earthquake and other risks to its waterfront, thanks to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who in mid-January secured $5 million for the port and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The money allows San Francisco and the federal infrastructure agency to finish the waterfront coastal flood study, which would not only pinpoint vulnerabilities, but include recommendations for how to lower those risks. It also will help guide federal investment for future port projects. This adds to $3 million previously secured by Pelosi, the port said. “Speaker Pelosi’s…