Articles – Page 59 – Pacific Maritime Magazine

Port of Olympia Makes Operational Changes Due to COVID Surge

Amid growing COVID-19 cases in Thurston County, Wash., the Port of Olympia is temporarily closing its offices to the public, offering limited public access to port business and administrative functions while continuing to conduct port commission meetings remotely. Port staff will be accessible via phone and email. In-person meetings are available by request. To reach the administrative office, call (360) 528-8000. Port commission meetings are being held via Zoom and can be accessed at https://portolympia.com/commission/. Operations continue at Swantown Marina, but offices will be closed to public access and staff is conducting business by telephone, email and internet. Maintenance and…

Young Brothers Receives Grant for Forklift Scales

Honolulu-based shipping company Young Brothers LLC will be able to buy new forklift scales thanks to a grant of more than $200,000 from the U.S. Maritime Administration’s America’s Marine Highway Program, the Hawaii Department of Transportation recently announced. “This grant represents a critical and necessary funding mechanism to assist in the modernization of our equipment at all our island ports, enabling our highly skilled employees to more safely and efficiently move cargo around the island ports and load the barge,” Young Brothers President Jay Ana said. Young Brothers, an independently managed subsidiary of Foss Maritime Co. and part of the…

5G Network Feasibility Study for Port and Maritime Operations Published

A study detailing how a private 5G network would enable the Tacoma Tideflats to accelerate current and future technology innovation and establish global leadership in the maritime industry has been published by a non-profit, software development company, and partners. Washington Maritime Blue, a non-profit, strategic alliance formed to accelerate innovation and sustainability in a blue economy, and software development ecosystem 5G Open Innovation Lab, in collaboration with two of its founding partners, published findings and recommendations from the Tacoma Tideflats 5G Network Feasibility Study in late January. In addition to technology acceleration, the study also lays the foundations for the…

Port of Long Beach Hits Cargo Milestone

For the first time in its history, the Port of Long Beach has surpassed nine million cargo containers in a calendar year, according to new data released Wednesday. The nation’s second busiest seaport handled more than 9.38 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in 2021, besting the previous record of more than 8.11 million TEUs, set in 2020. Imports in 2021 rose 14.6% to more than 4.58 million TEUs, while exports fell 2.6% to 1.43 million TEUs when compared to 2020. Empty containers rose 27.5% to more than 3.36 million TEUs, according to port data. The milestone came despite last month’s…

Port of San Diego Awards Shore Power Contract

The Port of San Diego is on track to double its shore-power capability at the port’s B Street and Broadway Pier cruise ship terminals after port commissioners on Jan. 11 agreed to award a $268,000 contract to San Diego County-based Baker Electric Inc. to install electrical equipment and “remove, replace and terminate medium voltage cables.” Work is set to start in March and be ready for commissioning by August, the port said. Last April, the board voted to approve $4.6 million for the shore power project that would allow two cruise ships to simultaneously link up to power. The move…

Port of Coos Bay North Jetty Repair Effort Receives Funding

Repairs to the North Jetty in the Port of Coos Bay will be included in the federal budget. The port said it was notified by U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair Peter DeFazio that the Army Corps of Engineers would set aside $32.7 million in the fiscal year 2022 disaster relief supplemental appropriations work plan for the repairs. The jetty has been losing about 20 feet annually, a total estimated loss so far of about 900 feet since the original construction design, completed in 1929. The project involves adding about 120 feet to 150 feet in length, stabilizing the…

POLB Seeks Input for New Electric Truck Charging Network

The Port of Long Beach is seeking input from potential vendors and suppliers regarding a clean air system has issued an information request to assist in creating one of the largest U.S. networks of publicly accessible electric-charging stations for the heavy duty, class 8 drayage trucks that serve the port complex. The request, available at https://tinyurl.com/rdhhen4h, asks for information on potential interest to install 100 chargers at up to four pre-identified sites. Responses are due by 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 29. Transitioning the drayage truck fleet serving the San Pedro Bay ports to zero emissions by 2035 is a central…

Los Angeles, Shanghai Ports Form Green Shipping Corridor Partnership

The ports of Los Angeles and Shanghai in late January announced a major partnership with stakeholders to form a ‘Green Shipping Corridor’ in an effort to make one of the world’s most traveled routes for shipping containers more sustainable. The partnership involves an implementation plan with goals, roles and other initiatives that is expected to be developed by the end of this year, according to the port. That includes the best ways to lower emissions and bolster efficiency for vessels using the trade route, curbing port-related air pollution and transitioning cleaner-burning vessels with low, ultra-low and zero carbon fuels through…

NWSA Reports Record Breakbulk Cargo Volumes

The Northwest Seaport Alliance, which is the maritime operating alliance between the Seattle and Tacoma ports, ended 2021 with record volumes for breakbulk cargo through its gateway, the alliance announced Jan. 31. Roll-on, roll-off cargo with construction equipment made up about 67% of breakbulk cargo last year. About 15% consisted of agricultural equipment such as tractors and harvesters, while 12% was machinery such as aluminum casting and injection mold equipment, and 5% was mining, which included drill with equipment and mining trucks. Also, about 5% consisted of miscellaneous cargo such as boats, helicopters and leisure equipment, according to the Seaport…

USCG Port Security Unit 313 Returns to Washington

Nine months after being deployed to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, U.S. Coast Guard Port Security Unit 313 returned home to Everett, Wash. on Jan. 27 During the tour, members gave over 42,000 hours of “around-the-clock waterside and shore side anti-terrorism and force protection defense security to Department of Defense assets and personnel at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay,” the USCG said in a statement. “Our members excelled in this joint operating environment, expanding inter-service operability and capabilities, and exceeded every established metric for accomplishing our assigned tasking,” said Cmdr. James W. Fitzgerald, PSU 313’s commanding officer. “Their devotion to duty and the…