Features – Pacific Maritime Magazine

05 Aug

Longtime Redwood City Port Commissioner Dick Dodge Retires

Karen Robes MeeksFeatures, News, News Briefs, PMM Online Newsdickdodge, portofredwoodcity

After 42 years of service, longtime Port of Redwood City Port Commissioner Richard “Dick” Dodge retired at the end of July. First appointed to the Board of Port Commissioners in 1980, Dodge held one of the longest tenures as a port commissioner in the nation, according to the port. Deeply involved in the maritime community, Dodge is a well-known leader in the maritime industry, having served multiple terms as past president and currently serving as a regional coordinator for the Association of Pacific Ports. “Commissioner Dodge played a vital part in shaping the port’s 2020 Strategic Vision and values,” port…

15 Feb

Port of Long Beach to Push for Supply Chain Transformation

Pacific MaritimeFeatures, News, News Briefs, Terminal Operations

At his annual State of the Port address on Feb. 9, Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero calls for transportation throughout the supply chain to meet future growth and garner trade opportunities. “We continue to debate the same issues year after year, while the operational model remains status quo – never changing,” Cordero said. “The test is not in how many containers we move but in how we transform and build a port that benefits everyone.” That includes embracing technology, partnering with stakeholders and moving toward 24-hour operations, he said. Later in February, the port plans to soft…

01 May

Tacoma LNG Facility Nears Opening Date

Pacific MaritimeFeatures, Opinion

Submitted by Puget Sound Energy The Port of Tacoma is a deep-water, major shipping hub in the Pacific Northwest. Soon, it will also be home to a new LNG facility capable of providing marine vessels with a safe, reliable, and economic source of liquefied natural gas. That facility, the Tacoma LNG plant, is a jointly-owned endeavor between Washington State utility Puget Sound Energy (PSE) and its commercial sister company Puget LNG. The project broke ground on Nov. 1, 2016 and, ever since, the plant and its team have continued to successfully reach the milestones that a project of this complexity…

01 May

The Hybridization of Washington State Ferries’ Jumbo Mark II: A Zero-Emissions Mission

Pacific MaritimeFeatures

With a capacity of 2,499 passengers and 202 vehicles, the m/v Tacoma, m/v Wenatchee and m/v Puyallup are the largest of the 21 vessels in the Washington State Ferries fleet. These diesel-electric Jumbo Mark II class ferries, which were built in Seattle and entered service between 1997 and 1999, have provided reliable service on the Seattle–Bainbridge Island and Edmonds–Kingston routes for over 20 years. However, as the largest consumers of diesel in the WSF fleet, they also come with a hefty operational cost and environmental footprint. Over the last decade, WSF has explored a number of potential technologies to reduce…

01 May

New Vessel & Tug Review

Pacific MaritimeFeatures, Vessel Profiles

By Peter Marsh Munson Builds High-Speed Skimmer for Oil Spill Contractor Located 400 miles north of Fairbanks on Alaska’s north slope, Prudhoe Bay, Alaska is home to the largest oil field in North America. The regional oil spill response contractor, Alaska Clean Seas, maintains about 60 miles of oil containment boom and more than 100 specialized response vessels. The latest of these vessels is the 48-foot x 16-foot Pt. McIntyre, a Munson purpose-built oil aluminum skimmer designed to operate in the harsh environment above the Arctic Circle. It is based on a standard landing craft hull that company founder Bill…

01 May

Morro Bay Nonprofit Raising Funds for Harbor Patrol Boat

Pacific MaritimeFeatures, News

By Karen Robes Meeks For the last seven years, Friends of the Morro Bay Harbor Department has galvanized the community to help its harbor department in need, whether it’s refurbishing lifeguard stations or installing a solar-powered emergency phone in a remote part of the sand spit. Now, the nonprofit community group is tackling its biggest challenge yet: raising funds to refurbish a much-needed patrol boat for the harbor department. Friends of the MBHD is working to reach its $100,000 goal to help the department outfit a newer used vessel with a pair of new Yanmar diesel engines and outdrives, updated…

01 May

Brusco’s Partnership with Diversified Reaches 20 Years and 10 Tugs

Pacific MaritimeFeatures, Vessel Profiles

By Peter Marsh The Pacific Northwest has been the center for tug construction on the West Coast for at least the last 40 years, during which the azimuth stern drive (ASD) and the use of computer-aided lofting and cutting have revolutionized the way tugs are built and used. This has had the effect of allowing a typical ASD tug to become a multi-purpose craft: able to handle both ship-handling, escort and short hauling assignments with only slight additions to the deck gear. Today, naval architects are able to take their well-tested hull shapes and modify accommodation and machinery layouts using…

01 Jul

COVID-19 Continuing to Affect Shipping

Pacific MaritimeFeatures

By Jim Shaw Over the past several months Covid-19 has brought the cruise industry to a virtual standstill and forced many of the world’s ferry lines to clamor for government support but most cargo operators are continuing to muddle through, although financial losses are mounting and capacity building. South Korea’s HMM, which recently introduced the world’s largest container ship, HMM Algeciras (see Pacific Maritime Magazine, June 2020), has 19 more ships under construction but suffered an 18.7 percent decline in cargo volume during the first quarter resulting in a $55 million loss. Taiwan’s Yang Ming, which celebrated the delivery of…

01 Jul

Cargo Handling: Greener Options for West Coast Ports

Pacific MaritimeFeatures

By Karen Robes Meeks Worldwide, port authorities are looking for cleaner ways to handle cargo. The ports on the US West Coast are often at the forefront of that effort – investing millions to develop and demonstrate infrastructure and equipment that haven’t been tested anywhere else. But the COVID-19 pandemic has complicated matters. For example, the Port of Los Angeles began demonstrating BYD electric yard tractors earlier this year that needed to be sent to BYD’s facility in Lancaster. But COVID-19 concerns compelled the company to temporarily close the Lancaster facility, so the port is waiting for the workers to…

01 Jul

Deck Machinery

Pacific MaritimeFeatures

By Kathy A. Smith Deck lifting and handling equipment continues to evolve, with plenty of unique, purpose-built customization being developed for applications across the commercial maritime spectrum. An in-house hybrid tow winch design was developed by Western Towboat’s port engineer Ed McEvoy for the company’s new tug Mariner. The specifications include 2,200 feet of 1-3/4-inch galvanized tow wire, 200 feet of 2.5-inch plasma synthetic line, and a Hägglunds hydraulic drive with an estimated 35 tons of line pull. The winch can be run with one or both 75-kw John Deere generators working in line depending on the pulling power needed,…