USCG Sector Puget Sound Launches Effort to Curb Vessel Traffic’s Impact on Whales

USCG Sector Puget Sound Launches Effort to Curb Vessel Traffic’s Impact on Whales

The U.S. Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound is engaging in a four-year pilot program that is expected to help minimize the vessel traffic impact on endangered whales in the Salish Sea, the agency announced Feb. 21. Hosted in the Puget Sound Vessel Traffic Service (VTS), the program allows for the Coast Guard to get whale sighting reports from mariners and give close to real-time information on whale locations to mariners through a whale report alert system, according to the Guard. The Coast Guard said that it plans to work closely with international, federal, tribal and state entities as well as…
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PMSA Report: Cargo Volumes Down at U.S. West Coast Ports in 2023

PMSA Report: Cargo Volumes Down at U.S. West Coast Ports in 2023

In 2023, U.S. West Coast ports saw their loaded imports and exports fall from the previous year and the pre-pandemic levels of 2019, according to the latest West Coast Trade Report published Feb. 21 by Pacific Merchant Shipping Association. The seven U.S. West Coast seaports tracked by PMSA processed more than 10.3 million inbound loads last year. That’s 12.2% down from the previous year and down 5.4% from the pre-pandemic level of 2019. Meanwhile, the seven ports monitored by PMSA -- Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, San Diego and Hueneme in California and the Northwest Seaport Alliance gateway of Seattle…
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