A variety of infrastructure projects are underway at major West Coast ports, with a focus on increasing capacity, improving navigation and enhancing efficiency. To accommodate bigger ships and increased demand, ports have been expanding facilities, deepening and widening channels and turning basins and enhancing on-shore coordination with rail and truck transit. They’ve also invested in digital infrastructure and green technology, both to meet emissions goals and to improve efficiency with several training, educational or other maritime facilities in the works. To find out the latest news, Pacific Maritime reached out to port and port authority officials in Vancouver, BC, Tacoma, Wash.,…
For years, West Coast seaports have been investing in infrastructure to meet evolving needs, whether it’s the arrival of larger vessels and the massive cargo volumes that came with them or the rising use of technology and awareness of sustainability. Hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent from the public and private sectors to stay competitive, at a time when investments at other North American seaports are growing and the battle for market share is fiercer than ever. “Federal and state governments have dedicated an unprecedented amount of funding for infrastructure,” Port of Oakland Executive Director Danny Wan said…
Smaller ports on the West Coast have been investing in their future in a major way. Officials are looking toward modernization with infrastructure projects focused on reducing emissions, improving efficiency, enhancing rail systems and increasing shore power. Some are also looking at enhancing maneuverability to accommodate bigger ships. Here are some of the highlights of a few of the projects shared with Pacific Maritime Magazine by a number of ports along the West Coast. PORT OF HUENEME Although the Port of Hueneme is considered small, it’s also in a key location as the only commercial deepwater port between Los Angeles…
A number of big and small West Coast ports are approaching coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic by investing in their future via innovative and forward-looking infrastructure projects. Several of the larger ports are focusing on modernizing their terminals, enhancing rail systems, reducing emissions and/or transitioning to hybrid, increasing shore power and designing projects that aim to improve efficiency and accommodate bigger ships. Here are some of the highlights of the projects: PORT OF LOS ANGELES The Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners recently adopted a $1.9-billion budget for fiscal year 2022-23, much of which will be reinvested into the Port…
As bigger ships dominate goods movement, ports along the West Coast know that they must adapt to remain competitive. For years, port officials have been working on various projects to make their ports more attractive to customers, whether it’s improving rail capabilities or building the infrastructure to make shore power possible. But the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t always made that easy. At the Port of San Diego, for example, funding had to be reduced for nine maritime infrastructure projects, pushing completion to a future fiscal year when the port’s revenues recover. Still, ports continue to execute their big picture vision of…
By Karen Robes Meeks Not all planned or maritime-related infrastructure improvement projects are being undertaken by port districts. In Hawai’i, a number of improvements have been embarked on by state and local governments, as well as other entities. One company that’s helping develop a number of them is American Marine Corp., which is headquartered in the Aloha State and also has a large presence California and Alaska. Some of the various projects that AMC has been participating in include: Repair Seal Team Delivery Vehicle Boat Ramp and Finger Pier AMC has been working as a sub-contractor to International Construction, Inc.…
Transportation and clean air officials in California, Oregon, Washington and other states have sent a letter to U.S. Senate and House leaders urging support of federal funding for clean ports. In the letter, the signatories express support for President Joe Biden’s American Jobs Plan proposal to invest an additional $17 billion in coastal ports, inland waterways, land ports of entry, and ferries. They also call out the need to invest in zero-emission infrastructure and equipment at the nation’s seaports in order to build “a cleaner, better future” and transform the system that moves the nation’s freight, especially as the economy…
But as negotiations continue, major ports aren’t waiting to be approved for federal funding. They’re already engaged in, and/or are planning projects to improve their infrastructures in order to become or remain capable of handling the largest ships bringing consumer goods to the U.S. from Asia. Pacific Maritime Magazine surveyed most of the largest ports on the West Coast about their projects, and here’s what they said. Port of Long Beach In an interview with Pacific Maritime, Port Executive Director Mario Cordero touted two recently completed infrastructure projects that he said have already helped increase productivity and reduce port congestion.…
Port of Alaska officials in Anchorage say they expect construction to be complete and initial operations underway by late fall on the new multi-million-dollar Petroleum and Cement Terminal (PCT). The project, contracted to Seattle firm Pacific Pile and Marine (PPM), is the first phase of the Port of Alaska Modernization Program. The project involves replacement of the Petroleum Oil Lubricants Terminal (POL 1), open since 1965, which is severely corroded and suffered significant structural damage during the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that occurred in the Anchorage area in November, 2018. Port officials said that once the new POL 1 terminal is…