Sept-Oct 2024 – Pacific Maritime Magazine

Alaska’s Wrangell Harbor Basin Awarded $25M For Floating Anchoring Systems

New floating and anchoring systems within the Wrangell Harbor Basin in Southeast Alaska will be funded through a $25 million grant from the federal Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant program. The grant, announced June 26 by U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, is one of 148 projects nationwide to make transportation infrastructure more resilient to extreme weather and improve supply chains to keep costs down for consumers. The project will fund planning, design and construction of floating and anchoring systems within the Wrangell Harbor Basin. The project will also construct water, electrical and fire suppression…

California Commits $27 Million to First-Ever Port Data System Development

The California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) has announced the award of $27 million to support data system development and interoperability across California’s five container ports. The state-level funding in the country, which was announced July 11, focuses on improving data functionality across California’s network of ports, which includes Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, San Diego and Hueneme. The agencies handle a staggering 40% of all U.S. containerized imports, supporting millions of jobs and generating billions in economic activity, data show. The awards will fund 10 projects across the five ports that address key challenges in port…

Saltchuk Adds Overseas Shipholding Group to Its Family of Companies

Seattle-based Saltchuk Resources has completed its previously announced tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Overseas Shipholding Group not already owned by Saltchuk for a purchase price of $8.50 per share in cash, an enterprise value of about $950 million. The transaction closed on July 10, making Florida-based OSG a wholly-owned subsidiary of Saltchuk. It joins Saltchuk as its seventh business unit, adding energy shipping to its diversified lines of business which include domestic shipping, international shipping, logistics, marine services, energy distribution, and air cargo. The transaction was first announced May 20. “With OSG,…

Small Shipyard Grants

Days before this issue of Pacific Maritime went to print, news broke that the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) has awarded $8.75 million to 15 shipyards in 12 states—including Hawaii, Oregon and Washington—through the Small Shipyard Grant Program. And since the awards were announced after the issue was nearly complete and the interior pages nearly completely filled, this column is the once place where there was still room to include the news, which is why you’re reading about it here. The funds, which include nearly $2.4 million to businesses in the three above-mentioned states—are to help awardees modernize,…

Coast Guard Cutter Healy Departs Seattle for Months-Long Arctic Deployment

U.S. Coast Guard cutter Healy departed Seattle in mid-June for a months-long Arctic deployment during which it is supporting scientists conducting three distinct science missions. The first mission was for the Arctic Observing Network, funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). The cutter serviced subsurface moorings in the Beaufort Sea, north of Alaska and conducted a broad-scale survey of the boundary current system from the Bering Strait to the western Canadian Arctic. The program, ongoing for more than two decades, aims to improve understanding of the Pacific Arctic ecosystem in a changing climate. Ancillary programs include measurements of harmful…

The Critical Role of Freight Visibility in Modern Port Logistics

In the ever-evolving world of global commerce, the shipping and logistics industry plays a pivotal role in ensuring that the gears of the global economy continue to turn smoothly. The industry is fundamentally supported by port technologies designed to manage and streamline the complex flow of goods along the West Coast and across continents. As operating challenges become more intricate, the need for advanced technologies –specifically those that provide real-time freight visibility – becomes more pronounced. Port stakeholders, including beneficial cargo owners (BCOs) and logistics service providers (LSPs), are increasingly turning to visibility solutions that include data originating from underlying…

Smaller Pacific Northwest Ports Have Big Infrastructure Plans

Smaller ports in the Pacific Northwest have some big infrastructure projects in the works, focusing on increasing cargo capacity, enhancing community experiences and developing facilities focused on sustainability. Pacific Maritime Magazine reached out to smaller ports up and down the coast to find out what plans are in the works. Port of Astoria The Port of Astoria offers services to commercial and recreational boaters at two marinas and a boatyard, and to commercial and cargo vessels, cruise ships and other vessels at its three deep-draft marine terminals. They have a number of projects in the works, but the highlight is…

Q&A: Washington State Ferries Leader Steve Nevey

Washington State Ferries, a division of the Washington State Department of Transportation, is the largest ferry system in the U.S. and carries tens of millions of riders each year. In late February, state Transportation Secretary Roger Millar announced that career mariner Steve Nevey was being named the assistant secretary for WSF. Nevey, who began in his new position on March 16, succeeded Patty Rubstello, who stepped down from the role after more than 33 years of service with the Washington State DOT. During the two years before being promoted to his current role, served as WSF’s director of marine operations,…

Ferries Get Refreshed, Go Green

In recent years, West Coast ferry operators and public transportation agencies have been actively investing in vessel retrofits, new builds and shoreside infrastructure projects needed to support newer, greener ferries. One of the biggest ferry investment announcements took place last November, when the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration announced about $220.2 million in grants from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help pay for service expansion to rural areas, buy vessels and enhance shoreside infrastructure. The 13 grant recipients included the Washington State Department of Transportation, whose Ferry Division received $4.8 million to refurbish six ferries built between…

The Economics of Electric Ferry Vessels

Interest in electrically powered ferry vessels has grown dramatically in recent years. In the U.S., electric ferries – either fully electric powered by shore charging or hybrid powered by on-board generation – are in operation or development in California, Washington and elsewhere. An established mode of transportation in the Scandinavian region, electric ferries first operated in Norway in 2015, and about 80 electric ferries operate in Norway currently. Other projects are planned, in development, or in operation across Europe, Asia and Australia. Reduction or elimination of emissions is the most commonly cited benefit of electric ferries and is often the…