The Port of Olympia Commission is looking for a few residents to serve on the port’s Citizens Advisory Committee, a volunteer group of nine to 13 people who meet every month to assist and lend guidance to commissioners on projects and programs. The committee was formed in 1994. Interested Thurston County residents must submit their application by Nov. 3. Applicants will be chosen based on “community and economic development activities; volunteer, board or committee experience; work experience; experience or knowledge of the port; and reasons for serving,” according to the port. Applications will be reviewed by the Port Commission President,…

Earlier this month, the US Coast Guard responded to a diesel spill in West Bay Marina near Olympia, Wash., following the sinking of 92-foot recreational yacht King's Way. The agency enacted the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund and asked Global Diving and Salvage to remove the spilled diesel, and recover any leftover pollution within the yacht, which had a reported 1,200 gallons of fuel. Officials from the Incident Management Division, Washington State response personnel from Department of Ecology, Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Port of Olympia were also on hand to curb the environmental impact of the spill.

The Port of Oakland recently reported that refrigerated exports rose by 20 percent in the past year, as it moved 119,756 TEUs from August 2018 through July 2019.The year before, the port handled 99,740 TEUs. Beef and pork from the US Midwest are the port’s fastest-growing refrigerated export goods, with increases of 45 percent and 38 percent respectively, in the same timeframe. Over the years, the port has been bolstering its cold chain logistics by creating new distribution capability, expanding operating hours to relieve export container deliveries to be shipped overseas, and putting in hundreds of additional electrical outlets to…

The Port of Redwood City – an official FEMA-designated Federal Staging Area (FSA) for the South San Francisco Bay area – recently hosted more than 75 regional first responders for an annual emergency drill. The four-hour exercise – which simulated a post-7.9 magnitude earthquake scenario – tested the response of regional fire departments, Redwood City Police Department and city staff, as well as FEMA Urban Search and Rescue California Task Force 3. “Emergency drills like this are conducted annually to keep first responders ready and allow them to continuously learn new ways to better collaborate on recovery efforts,” said Ted…

The Intermodal Container Transfer Facility Joint Powers Authority governing board will meet on Sept. 11 at 6 p.m. in Long Beach, Calif. The authority was established in 1983 to oversee the creation and operation of the 148-acre facility, which was developed to improve truck and rail cargo flow through the Port of Los Angeles and the Port Long Beach. The facility, about five miles away from the twin ports, is run by Union Pacific. The meeting will take place at the Bob Foster Civic Chambers, 411 W. Ocean Blvd., near the Port of Long Beach Administration Building. For more information,…

This week, members of the US Coast Guard Sector Juneau conducted an oil spill response exercise in Ketchikan, Alaska. Representatives from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Southeast Alaska Petroleum Response Organization and Western Canadian Marine Response Corporation also took part in the exercise that saw an exclusion boom being deployed in Ward Cove and Whipple Creek. The exercise allows participants to practice on-water recovery of free oil within the Tongass Narrows while using a boom around environmentally sensitive areas outlined in the Southeast Alaska Area Contingency Plan. “This exercise will enable us to assess the effectiveness of our pre-planned…

The public is invited to hear the latest details on the Port of Long Beach’s Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility. The project is at the heart of the port’s $1 billion rail program that will shift cargo transport at marine terminals to rail. The move is expected to lower the number of regional truck trips and aligns with the port’s approach to greening operations. “No cargo trucks would visit the facility,” according to the port. “Instead, smaller train segments would be brought to the facility and joined together into a full-sized train.” The initial arrival, departure and storage tracks…

Starting June 7, the Port of Redwood City will be closed on alternating Fridays as part of a pilot program to help “ease employee commute time, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and provide one additional hour of business administration to the public Monday through Thursday,” according to the port. As of May 28, the new administrative office hours are from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Friday, and closed every other Friday. The change is prompted in part by the Bay area’s high cost of housing in which many endure long commutes to…