The Port of Grays Harbor revealed Aug. 1 that the Soy Transportation Coalition has contributed $1.3 million to help fund the port’s Terminal 4 Expansion and Redevelopment Project. The funding came from farmer contributions represented by the Iowa Soybean Association, the Kansas Soybean Commission, the Nebraska Soybean Board, the North Dakota Soybean Council, the South Dakota Soybean Research and Promotion Council, the Soy Transportation Coalition and the United Soybean Board. “It was an easy decision to invest in this project, as the movement of soymeal to global markets benefits farmers near and far,” Soy Transportation Coalition Executive Director Mike Steenhoek said. “Partnerships like these will continue to pay dividends well into the future.” The money is expected to pay for pre-engineering, design and site development work for the project, which…
Extensive plans to renovate St. Herman Harbor in Kodiak, Alaska are in the works, with construction on the estimated $60 million project tentatively set to begin in the summer of 2027. “St. Herman Harbor will not see this type of renovation again in my lifetime, so we want to do everything possible to get it right,” said Dave Johnson, a veteran U.S. Coast Guard helicopter pilot who took on the post of harbormaster at Kodiak in 2002. “Spending the money up front to make sure we get the harbor we need is critical,” Johnson said, in responses to questions following his update on the project at the ComFish Alaska 2024 trade show held in Kodiak in April. For example, he explained, it would cost an additional $100,000 to add a…
The Los Angeles Harbor Commission has approved a $2.6 billion spending plan for the 2024-25 fiscal year that includes $257.7 million set aside for the capital improvement projects at the Port of L.A., it was announced June 6. The budget for the port’s capital improvement program, which is 19% more than last year’s improvement projects budget, includes $44.3 million for the interchange reconfiguration of State Route 47/Vincent Thomas Bridge and Front Street/Harbor Boulevard; $15.3 million for the Zero-Emission Port Electrification and Operation Program and $14.2 million to restore and update Pasha Terminal. The budget also dedicates $4 million to planning work related to the $150 million Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach Good Movement Workforce Training Facility project, which began its environmental review process earlier this year.…
Crowley Maritime’s first all-electric ship assist harbor tug could be operating in San Diego as early as this spring. Crowley announced Jan. 24 that it accepted delivery of eWolf, the electric tugboat designed by its engineering services team and built by Master Boat Builders at its Coden, Alabama shipyard. The new 82-foot tug is expected to curb 178 tons of nitrogen oxide, 2.5 tons of diesel particulate matter and 3,100 metric tons of carbon dioxide in the first decade of operations, according to Crowley. According to Environmental Protection Agency calculations, that’s equal to eliminating the use of 350,000 gallons of gas. “The eWolf will provide services through its advanced vessel control technology and first-in-class energy features, while providing the safety, quality and reliability that Crowley and our mariners are known…
Port of Grays Harbor Deputy Executive Director Leonard Barnes has been chosen as the port’s next executive director. He is succeeding Gary Nelson, who is expected to retire in March. The Port of Grays Harbor Commission is expected to consider Barnes’ employment agreement at its Jan. 9 meeting. It was at a special Dec. 14 meeting that the commission authorized port Director of Finance and Administration Mike Folkers and legal counsel Art Blauvelt to begin employment agreement talks with Barnes. Barnes began his career at the port in 1984. Since becoming deputy executive director role in 2005, he has been in charge of business development, industrial property leases and airport and marine terminal operations at the port. He has been active in a number of organizations, including the Northwest Marine…
Port of Los Angeles Assistant Chief Harbor Engineer Chris Brown has been named the port’s new chief harbor engineer in charge of its Engineering Division. Brown takes over for Dina Aryan-Zahlan, who has been promoted to Deputy Executive Director of Development, the port announced Jan 3. In his new role, Brown’s expected to oversee planning, development and design of infrastructure and facilities at the port, including wharves, terminals and rail. “Chris has been a pivotal player in many port infrastructure projects over the last two decades, including the award-winning Wilmington Waterfront Park and the current port-wide electrification program,” Aryan-Zahlan said. “This promotion recognizes all his hard work, dedication and contributions to these critical infrastructure programs,” she continued. Brown, who earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of…
Two projects to help larger cargo vessels better navigate the Seattle-Tacoma harbor have advanced to the design phase. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have signed design agreements with the ports of Seattle and Tacoma for the Seattle Navigation Improvement Project and the Tacoma Harbor Navigation Improvement Project, the Northwest Seaport Alliance announced Dec. 12. The project in Tacoma includes designing the deepening of Blair Waterway channel and potentially using the dredged material at the East Commencement Habitat Opportunity (formerly Saltchuk) area, while the Seattle project calls for deepening the West Waterway Channel Deepening Project to minus-57 feet mean lower low water. “This deepening project fits into our comprehensive work to modernize the Blair Waterway which has included the Husky Terminal Modernization project, crane raising at Pierce County Terminal and…
Ample warehouse space and easy highway access have attracted another customer to the Port of Grays Harbor Commission’s Satsop Business Park. On Nov. 2, the Port of Grays Harbor announced that its Port Commission has approved a lease for a warehouse and surrounding land at 37 Tower Boulevard, with the Chehalis Tribe’s Talking Cedar, the first tribal-owned distillery in the U.S. Talking Cedar said that it plans to store supplies and consumables related to the production of distilled spirits at the warehouse. The Commission also approved an option for the 17,500 square-foot warehouse 17 in West Park, to be exercised by Jan. 31, 2024. “We are thrilled to welcome Talking Cedar to the (business) park,” Satsop Business Park General Manager Alissa Shay said in a statement. “We are excited the…
After nearly 24 years on the job, Port of Grays Harbor Executive Director Gary Nelson has said that he’ll retire March 31, 2024. Nelson, whose pending retirement was announced by the port Nov. 14, was hired as executive director in April 2000, when the port had only 21 vessel calls handling 85,000 metric tons of cargo with an operating budget of just $5.2 million. More than two decades later, Grays Harbor is projected to have 100 vessel calls and handle more than 3 million metric tons of cargo with an operating budget of nearly $40 million by the end of 2023. During Nelson’s tenure, the port has seen more than $275 million in private investment throughout its facilities. In addition, Grays Harbor has diversified to include operations at the Satsop…
A project addressing erosion issues that threatened vital utilities to Satsop Business Park is now completed, the Port of Grays Harbor announced Oct. 6. Civic and harbor officials recently celebrated the port’s Haul Road Erosion Mid-Term Strategy Project, which called for building and installing “self-mitigating bioengineered log structures” at the area of erosion, reshaping the embankment, putting in riparian plants to enhance aquatic habitats and furthering larger restoration efforts at the Chehalis Basin. The project was funded by the port, the Office of the Chehalis Basin, the Chehalis River Basin Flood Authority, Grays Harbor Energy and Grays Harbor County’s .09 fund. Parametrix was the port’s lead engineer and Rognlin’s, Inc. of Aberdeen performed the construction work. “The Department of Ecology’s Office of Chehalis Basin works with local partners to aggressively…
