Port of Grays Harbor’s Westport Marina Modernization Project Nets Funding

Port of Grays Harbor’s Westport Marina Modernization Project Nets Funding

The Port of Grays Harbor plans to begin the first phase of its Westport Marina Modernization Project this year, an effort made possible by Rep. Derek Kilmer, who secured Community Project Funding in the federal 2023 fiscal year budget, the port announced Dec. 30. The $750,000 is expected to pay for designing the project’s float modernization and reconfiguration, with a focus toward replacing floats 11, 15, 17 and 21. Port Commission President Tom Quigg said the port is grateful for Kilmer’s work in securing funding for the project.  “Community Project Funding at this critical early stage supports the important work…
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WPPA Hires Port of Seattle’s ffitch as New Executive Director

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

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…
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From the Editor: Happy New Year

From the Editor: Happy New Year

Hello and Happy New Year, This is just a reminder that starting the first week of January, the Pacific Maritime Online newsletter is going from a twice a week schedule to being sent out on just Tuesdays. Among the reasons for this is to align the digital newsletter more closely with two of PacMar Online’s sister publications, Professional Mariner Online and Fishermen’s News Online, which each generate newsletters once a week. (Another of our sister publications, Ocean Navigator, has a monthly newsletter, FYI.) With the PacMar Online newsletter becoming a weekly, each edition will contain five stories, rather than four…
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Overall November Cargo Drops at Port of Oakland

Overall November Cargo Drops at Port of Oakland

The Port of Oakland saw its overall cargo volumes in November fall by double digits year over year, according to data released by the port Dec. 28. The Northern California seaport processed 131,929 loaded TEUs overall, a 15% drop when comparing this past November to November 2021. Full imports in November 2022 tumbled by 17.4% year over year with 68,646 TEUs, while exports dipped by 12.3% to 63,283 TEUs. Meanwhile, empty containers soared 75.6% in November compared to the same time the previous year. The port is attributing the softening numbers to weakened demand, declining ocean rates, continued canceled sailings…
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Ocean Network Express Acquiring West Coast Container Terminals

Ocean Network Express Acquiring West Coast Container Terminals

Japan-based shipping company Ocean Network Express (ONE) on Dec. 27 revealed that it has signed agreements to acquire a 51% stake in two terminal operators – TraPac LLC and Yusen Terminals (YTI), which are both currently held by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. – and a shipping company, Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha, commonly known as NYK Line. TraPac is a container terminal operator and vessel stevedore that provides container terminal services in Los Angeles and Oakland. YTI is a container terminal operator and vessel stevedore that provides container terminal services in Los Angeles. “These acquisitions are part of the integration of…
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Port of Long Beach Provides Nearly 12,000 COVID Shots to Mariners

Port of Long Beach Provides Nearly 12,000 COVID Shots to Mariners

After an 18-month effort, the Port of Long Beach on Dec. 31 wrapped up its COVID-19 vaccination program, which saw close to 12,000 shots given to mariners serving on cargo ships visiting the San Pedro Bay. “We are proud to have sponsored free vaccines for sailors visiting the port,” Port of Executive Director Mario Cordero said. “The port is about more than just moving cargo, it’s about the people who move the cargo and keeping them healthy and safe.” The program – run jointly by the port, the National Guard and the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services…
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POLB Channel Deepening Project Receives Federal Authorization

POLB Channel Deepening Project Receives Federal Authorization

The Port of Long Beach’s Channel Deepening Project is one of the U.S. projects included in the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2022, the newly signed law by President Joe Biden that allows funding for flood control, navigation and ecosystem-related projects, it was announced Dec. 28. Long Beach’s channel deepening effort is among five navigation projects in the country that passed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ “rigorous planning process to make the cut for construction authorization under the new water resources law,” the port said in a statement. Long Beach and the Army Corps are jointly funding the…
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Port of Vancouver USA Completes Terminal Stabilization Project

Port of Vancouver USA Completes Terminal Stabilization Project

The Port of Vancouver USA has finished its Terminal 4 Bank Stabilization Project, resolving the erosion of a bank in an ecologically-minded way, the port announced in December. The port and its environmental partners helped stabilize the bank at Terminal 4, where port tenant Subaru operates.  The terminal was built in 1994 with no riverbank protection from high water and over time has seen the bank slope “eroded significantly and upland infrastructure was at risk of being damaged,” according to the port. Vancouver USA and its partners came up with a long-term solution, which includes maximizing beach habitat, removing invasive…
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Cargo Dwell Times Down at LA, Long Beach Ports: PMSA

Cargo Dwell Times Down at LA, Long Beach Ports: PMSA

The length of time that cargo containers were dwelling at the Los Angeles and Long Beach seaports in November declined month-over-month, according to data released Dec. 19 by the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association. The average time containers lingered on marine terminals at both ports was 2.8 days, a drop from 3.5 days the previous month. The numbers reflect pre-pandemic levels for local cargo. “The last time local container dwell time averaged 2.8 days was in July 2020,” according to PMSA, adding that just 7.2% of containers stayed longer than five days at terminals, down from 10.9% in October. For rail-bound…
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Port of LA Awards $6 Million Toward Zero-Emissions Trucking

Port of LA Awards $6 Million Toward Zero-Emissions Trucking

Two Los Angeles area trucking firms have each received $3 million from the Port of Los Angeles to hasten the move to zero-emission drayage trucks, the port announced Dec. 20.  To be eligible for the incentive, MLI Leasing in Gardena and Performance Team in El Segundo are each working with an equipment manufacturer. MLI, with Peterbilt, plans to spend more than $3.4 million to make and put out 12 ZE trucks. Performance Team, with Volvo, is spending over $5.6 million to produce and deploy 10 ZE trucks, according to the port. The port’s grants are expected to offset the cost…
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