August 2022 – Page 2 – Pacific Maritime Magazine

IANA Award Winners Announced

The Intermodal Association of North America on July 13 announced that the winners of its three industry awards will be honored at the annual Intermodal Expo in September. The winners are: the Silver Kingpin Award—Ted Prince; the Chairman’s Award—Jim Newsome; and the Intermodal Achievement Award—Congressman Alan Lowenthal. The recognitions will take place during Intermodal Expo’s opening general session on Tuesday, Sept. 13 at the Long Beach Convention Center in Southern California. Prince, the chief strategy officer and co-founder of Tiger Cool Express, was selected to receive the IANA Silver Kingpin Award for his career-long contributions to intermodalism. Prince is a…

Fincantieri Marine Group Announces New CEO

Fincantieri Marine Group, a U.S. subsidiary of Italian shipbuilding giant Fincantieri, announced that general manager Marco Galbiati has been named as the new CEO effective July 6, while former CEO Dario Deste remains the company’s president. Galbiati had been FMG’s general manager since 2018 and in this capacity, had been heavily involved in all aspects of the business and its efforts to grow the workforce in support of important commercial and military contracts. Deste had served as FMG’s president and CEO since 2018, and was recently promoted to lead Fincantieri’s Naval Vessels Division. Galbiati began his business career in 1996…

Infrastructure Projects in Full Swing at Major West Coast Ports

A number of big and small West Coast ports are approaching coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic by investing in their future via innovative and forward-looking infrastructure projects. Several of the larger ports are focusing on modernizing their terminals, enhancing rail systems, reducing emissions and/or transitioning to hybrid, increasing shore power and designing projects that aim to improve efficiency and accommodate bigger ships. Here are some of the highlights of the projects: PORT OF LOS ANGELES The Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners recently adopted a $1.9-billion budget for fiscal year 2022-23, much of which will be reinvested into the Port…

NW Seaport Alliance Again Recognized as a Top Green Supply Chain Partner

For the sixth consecutive year, the Northwest Seaport Alliance has earned the distinction of being an Inbound Logistics Green Supply Chain Partner. The recognition highlights NWSA’s commitment to protecting the environment through proactive and collaborative partnerships with supply chain stakeholders and communities across the Puget Sound. The 75 organizations selected by the publication Inbound Logistics represent various trade sectors, including trucking companies, railroads, shipping lines, freight forwarders and air cargo carriers. These companies are recognized for their commitment to supply chain sustainability and ensuring that their operations are environmentally friendly. The NWSA, which is a maritime operations partnership between the…

Offshore Wind Update 2022

A lot has happened since the Biden administration in May 2021 announced that California’s northern and central coasts would be open to offshore wind development, identifying two areas in particular: Morro Bay and Humboldt Call. The idea was to pursue the development of floating offshore wind platforms off the California coast as part of the Biden administration’s overall goal of generating 30 gigawatts of domestic offshore wind by 2030. The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is the lead agency on offshore wind. This past May, the department announced offshore wind lease sales for the first…

POLB Begins Demolition of Gerald Desmond Bridge

Demolition of the Gerald Desmond Bridge in the Port of Long Beach began in July with the removal of the section of the span suspended over the Back Channel, which required a 48-hour closure to all watercraft traffic. The Back Channel was closed to vessels for one weekend, from 6 a.m. July 9 to 6 a.m. July 11, as the bridge’s 410-foot-long suspended span was dismantled and lowered onto a barge. The bridge has been closed to vehicle traffic since its replacement opened in October 2020. Vehicle traffic on the replacement bridge was not expected to be affected by the…

Maritime Security is Everyone’s Job

The challenge of securing ships and ports is not new. The Jack Sparrows of the world long have been trying to hijack ships, steal their cargo and misdirect the vessels onto the rocks, so pirates can harvest the booty that floats onto the beach. However, with better technology on ships and in ports, and new vectors available for the attacks, the necessary actions to predict and prevent physical and cyber assaults to shipping companies and seaports are increasing. There is more work to do to keep the buccaneers at bay, and there are new threats to consider in the maritime…

American Port Access

If three U.S. congressmen have their way, legislation they’ve recently introduced would pave the way for American merchant marine and military vessels, including those in the Jones Act fleet, to bypass the long vessel queues and congestion at major U.S. ports, particularly those on the West Coast. The legislation, HR 8243, also known as the “American Port Access Privileges Act,” was introduced in the House of Representatives on June 29. It would allow U.S. exports to skip to the front of the line at American seaport terminals. “This legislation would put American exports at the front of the line at…

UWL and Swire Shipping Announce Seattle-to-Vietnam Express Export Ocean Service

Singapore-based Swire Shipping and UWL, a Cleveland-based non-vessel operating common carrier, have introduced a new dedicated, express ocean export service from Seattle, Washington to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, offering a 21-day transit time. The announcement was made in mid-June by UWL President Duncan Wright as he spoke at the 34th annual meeting of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition (AgTC) in Tacoma, Wash. “The recent ocean disruption and 100-day-long transit times are literally wiping out U.S. food exporter livelihood; many of these businesses simply cannot withstand the consistent lost sales, rotting food, and cancelled orders,” Wright said. “Our new service provides much…

EBDG-Designed Hybrid-Electric Ferry Enters Construction

Seattle-based Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) announced on July 6 that its design of a hybrid-electric passenger vehicle ferry for Casco Bay Lines of Portland, Maine will enter the construction phase at Senesco Marine of North Kingstown, Rhode Island. The 164-foot ferry is expected to replace an existing diesel-powered ferry, the Machigonne II, resulting in a reduction of 800 tons of carbon dioxide each year, helping to improve air quality. EBDG has supported Casco Bay Lines since 2018 as it prepared and planned for the replacement ferry, which is to operate between Portland and Peaks Island, Maine. The contract design,…