Pacific Maritime Magazine – Page 3 – Pacific Maritime Magazine

10 Jan

WPPA Hires Port of Seattle’s ffitch as New Executive Director

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The Washington Public Ports Association has hired Port of Seattle Government Relations Manager Eric ffitch as its new executive director, the WPPA announced in December. Currently, ffitch oversees the port’s Washington state government advocacy efforts in Olympia, among other responsibilities. He has more than 13 years of experience in federal and state government relations, according to the WPPA, and has worked in the other Washington as Congressional staff for former-Rep. Jay Inslee, Rep. Suzanne Bonamici and Sen. Maria Cantwell. While in Sen. Cantwell’s office, he served as a lead staff member on the passage of a freight transportation package in…

13 Dec

New Zealand Boat Builder Opens Seattle Manufacturing Plant

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New Zealand-based boat building company Stabicraft has expanded its operations by opening a manufacturing plant in Seattle. The news was reported in late November by New Zealand news and information website Stuff. Stabicraft, which is continuing to build aluminum boats in New Zealand, has also opened a Seattle location due to increased sales in the U.S, chief executive David Glen has said, and plans to focus on efforts on manufacturing and growth into the American market. “We see considerable growth opportunity in the USA,” was quoted by Stuff as saying. “We have been successful in growing our sales there, but…

13 Dec

BC Ferries Sees Quarterly Ridership, Revenue Increases

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Vehicle and passenger traffic, revenue and net earnings were all higher for BC Ferries in its most recent quarter compared to the same periods in the prior year, according to data released in late November. For the six months ending Sept. 30, 2022, 5.4 million vehicles were carried, up 4% over the 5.2 million vehicles in the same period in fiscal 2020, pre-COVID. In the three months ending Sept. 30, 2022, BC Ferries carried 7.5 million passengers and 3.0 million vehicles, compared to 7.0 million passengers and 3.0 million vehicles in the same period in the prior year, data show.…

20 Oct

Shipping Companies Recognized for Reducing Vessel Speeds to Protect Whales

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Over a dozen shipping companies, including MSC, Maersk, Yang Ming COSCO and K Line received awards in September for reducing speeds in and around California waters as part of the “Protecting Blue Whales & Blue Skies” program. A total of 19 shipping companies participated, transiting at 10 knots or less in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Southern California region. The program’s Southern California region extends from Point Arguello in Santa Barbara County to waters near Dana Point, south of the Los Angeles and Long Beach seaports. The “Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies” program is a collaborative effort…

11 Oct

West Coast States Receive Nearly $10M in Federal Marine Highway Grants

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California, Oregon and Washington have received a total of $9.6 million in grant funding from the federal government for a number of marine highway projects, the Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced Oct. 6. The funding is to help expand marine highway services on our nation’s navigable waterways to reduce congestion, alleviate supply chain bottlenecks and move goods more quickly from ships to shelves, MARAD said. Two West Coast projects are receiving funding. They are: M-5 Coastal Connector, which was awarded $5,550,000. The America’s Marine Highway Grant funds will go toward infrastructure upgrades at the Port of San Diego that will be…

01 Jul

SA Recycling Celebrates Milestone at Port of Long Beach

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SA Recycling recently celebrated a major milestone: processing 2.5 million tons of iron ore exports since October 2020 at its Pier T terminal at the Port of Long Beach, the port announced Wednesday, June 29. Reaching the achievement was a big moment for SA Recycling, which has been operating at the port’s Terminal Island since 1998 and began receiving iron ore shipments from the Western U.S. by rail in 2013. The shipments are then placed on bulk cargo vessels headed for East Asia. In a statement, the port said the milestone shows “strong growth in the shipment of a resource…

01 Jul

USCG Warns of Illegal Vessel Operators in Alaska

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Passengers should be mindful of vessels that could be operating illegally in Alaska this season, the U.S. Coast Guard announced Sunday, June 26. Some boat operators may not have had a proper USCG inspection, training, credentials and/or enrolled in a mandated drug testing program, according to the USCG. “It is important for the safety of all involved that you do your homework before selecting a charter company,” Cmdr. Jason Boyer, Chief of Prevention, 17th Coast Guard District, said. “Your diligence will help ensure the company meets regulations for required safety equipment and Coast Guard credentials. Don’t place your friends or…

01 Jul

New BC Ferries Board Chair Appointed

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Joy MacPhail is the new chair of the Board of Directors for British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., or BC Ferries, it was announced Thursday, June 30. MacPhail takes the reins from outgoing Board Chair Brenda Eaton, whose term ended June 23. “The BC Ferries Board thanks Ms. Eaton for her commitment and valuable service as chair and board member,” the ferry services company said in a statement. “Her leadership and strategic direction, particularly during the global pandemic, has helped the company emerge from the challenge well positioned to serve the public interest.” MacPhail previously served as chair of the Insurance…

01 Jul

New Members Sought for National Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee

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This week, the Office of Merchant Mariner Credentialing announced two vacancies on the National Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee. The committee, according to Mayte Medina, chief of the Office of Merchant Mariner Credentialing, offers guidance to the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security through the Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard on issues related to U.S. Merchant Marine personnel such as “training, qualifications, certification, documentation and fitness of mariners.” The advisory committee needs one member to represent the public and another member who is a deck officer that has a Merchant Mariner Credential with an endorsement as Master of…

28 Jun

L.A., Long Beach Ports’ Container Dwell Fee Start Date Delayed to July 1

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Leaders at the Los Angeles and Long Beach seaports have again decided to move the start date of the Container Dwell Fee an additional week, to July 1, it was announced June 24. Officials decided not to implement the fee, which charges ocean carriers for every import that stays at terminals for nine or more days, after seeing that the amount of older cargo has fallen by 31% at both ports since announcing the fee Oct. 25. The fee calls for ocean carriers to be billed $100 for every import that stays past its allotted time, rising in $100 increments…