WETA’s Gemini Class Clean Air Conversion Project Completed

WETA’s Gemini Class Clean Air Conversion Project Completed

Officials at the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) and Bay Area Air Quality Management District on May 23 commemorated the completion of WETA’s $5.5 million Gemini Class Clean Air Conversion Project, an effort to convert the engines of four vessels into cleaner ones. The updates, completed throughout much of 2022 and 2023 at JT Marine in Vancouver, Wash., are expected to significantly lower air emissions from ferries that operate in Oakland, Alameda and Richmond. Built about 15 years ago with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Tier 2 engines, the four ferries now have the cleanest available…
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Port of Oakland Sees Consecutive Months of Cargo Growth

Port of Oakland Sees Consecutive Months of Cargo Growth

The Port of Oakland has seen an uptick in overall cargo volumes in the last two months, a trend that the Northern California seaport said it hopes continues into the year. According to data released by the port May 26, Oakland moved 174,482 TEUs in April, about 7,000 containers more than the previous month. “Given the increase we’ve seen in business over the last couple of months, we are optimistic about a stronger second half of 2023 for the amount of cargo moving through Oakland.” Port of Oakland Maritime Director Bryan Brandes said. “We also anticipate increasing the number of…
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Tugdock, Crowley Team on Floating Offshore Wind Energy Solutions

Tugdock, Crowley Team on Floating Offshore Wind Energy Solutions

Crowley Maritime is leaning into its offshore wind business. The company announced May 30 that it’s investing in U.K.-based company Tugdock, which says it has developed the first road-transportable floating dry dock. Crowley, said it which plans to use Tugdock Submersible Platforms (TSP) at potential locations on the U.S. West Coast, is developing wind terminals in California, Louisiana and Massachusetts. At the Port of Humboldt Bay in Northern California, the company’s working on an agreement to develop a terminal to produce, install and run offshore wind floating platforms, use large heavy cargo ships and offer crewing and marshaling for newly…
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Oregon Green Manufacturing Acquires Gunderson Marine

Oregon Green Manufacturing Acquires Gunderson Marine

The Greenbrier Companies’ vessel fabrication business, Gunderson Marine, which operates within a 58-acre industrial waterfront site on Front Avenue in Northwest Portland, Oregon., has been sold to Oregon Green Manufacturing. The sale was announced by Greenbrier on May 16.  Oregon Green Manufacturing was recently established by local experts in the manufacturing and business space: Terrence “Terry” Aarnio, who served as chairman and majority owner of Oregon Iron Works, Inc. until Vigor Industrial’s acquisition in 2014, and Marvin “Dee” Burch, president of Portland-based Advanced American Construction. While the terms of the sale were not disclosed, the announcement stated that the companies…
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Employers Accuse Dockworkers of Stoppages, Slowdowns at West Coast Ports

Employers Accuse Dockworkers of Stoppages, Slowdowns at West Coast Ports

Operations at multiple cargo terminals at various West Coast ports have been slowed or halted since June 2, with the organization that employs the dockworkers saying that an organized slowdown by the longshore union is the cause. In a June 5 statement, the Pacific Maritime Association, which employs the laborers said that the International Longshore and Warehouse Union since last Friday has staged “concerted and disruptive work actions that have slowed operations at key marine terminals at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and elsewhere on the West Coast, including the Ports of Oakland and Seattle.” The PMA,…
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Container Dwell Times Up Slightly at San Pedro Bay Ports: PMSA

Container Dwell Times Up Slightly at San Pedro Bay Ports: PMSA

The amount of cargo that lingered at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach before leaving by truck or by rail rose slightly last month but stayed within pre-pandemic levels, according to new data released May 23 by the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association. Container dwell time at the twin ports went up from 2.5 days in March to 3.1 days in April for cargo that left by truck and rose from 4.1 days in March to 4.7 days in April for containers departing by rail. This is in line with what has been trending for much of 2023 when…
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Canadian Tech Company Unveils ‘BuoyCam’ Navigation Aid

Canadian Tech Company Unveils ‘BuoyCam’ Navigation Aid

There’s now new ocean technology available that could help mariners better navigate the ocean by visually assessing its conditions. British Columbia startup MarineLabs Data Systems has introduced a BuoyCam service that gives subscribers “360-degree, real-time views” of the ocean by using images from sensors situated along coastlines, the company announced May 17. Paired with other MarineLabs data, users can get access to the images using MarineLabs’ CoastAware platform on a desktop or smartphone and selecting the camera icon for a specific buoy to see 360-degree images from that location. The info is refreshed in CoastAware every 15 minutes. The BuoyCam…
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NASSCO Awarded $736M Navy Oiler Build Contract

NASSCO Awarded $736M Navy Oiler Build Contract

San Diego-based General Dynamics NASSCO has been retained to construct a ninth vessel in the U.S. Navy’s John Lewis-class fleet oiler program. The company announced May 23 that its current contract of eight ships with the Navy has been modified to allow for the building of an additional ship at a cost of $736 million.  “NASSCO is proud of our ongoing dedication to deliver these ships to the fleet,” General Dynamics NASSCO President Dave Carver said. “We are committed to working with our Navy partners to ensure the continued success of the John Lewis-class fleet oiler program.” Construction of the…
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Vancouver BC Lauds Completed Projects, DP World’s 100th Anniversary

Vancouver BC Lauds Completed Projects, DP World’s 100th Anniversary

May has been a month for celebration in Vancouver, British Columbia, where logistics company DP World and the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority celebrated not only a newly completed Centerm Expansion Project at DP World Vancouver, but also the 100th anniversary of the port’s marine terminal operations. DP World teamed with the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority to finish the Centerm Expansion Project, a $350 million CAD ($260 million U.S.) project to bolster throughput by 60%, with the larger terminal now able to process 1.5 million TEUs annually and add 15% to the terminal’s footprint overall. “The 100th anniversary of terminal operations…
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Prison Sentence for Woman Who Sent Fake ILWU-PMA Health Plan Claims

Prison Sentence for Woman Who Sent Fake ILWU-PMA Health Plan Claims

A Los Angeles area woman who sent false claims to the International Longshore and Warehouse Union-Pacific Maritime Association (ILWU-PMA) benefit plan at the Port of Long Beach has been sentenced to 27 months in prison, City News Service reported May 23. Sara Victoria, 46, who pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy and aggravated identity theft last December, will also have to pay $551,810 in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Victoria, along with eight other defendants -- seven of them Port of Long Beach dockworkers -- took advantage of the union health benefit plan that covers overall chiropractic…
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