Articles – Page 55 – Pacific Maritime Magazine

USCG Cutter Active Returns to Washington Homeport

After 55 days supporting counterdrug missions off the Central American coast, crew members with the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Active returned to Port Angeles and their loved ones earlier this month. During their patrol on the 55-year-old medium-endurance cutter known as “Li’l Tough Guy,” crew members also took part in helicopter training and proficiency operations that resulted in qualifying and certifying eight pilots. Eighteen shipboard aviation support crew members also received certifications. Active also teamed up with the Florida-based Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron and Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco. “The crew performed superbly in every assigned mission during this…

Port of Hueneme Receives COVID-19 Recovery Help

The Port of Hueneme will be able to recoup some of the revenue it lost in the 2020 fiscal year, early in the COVID-19 pandemic. The port, located in Ventura County, Calif., is expected to receive more than $2.3 million from California’s American Rescue Plan Act, which was created to help ports impacted by COVID-19, it was announced in February. For example, the port’s auto manufacturing sector took a hit during the pandemic when auto manufacturers encountered production setbacks. The port saw the number of auto ships drop from up to six vessels weekly to two, and in some cases…

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…