Chief Engineer of Oil-Dumping Vessel Sentenced

The chief engineer of a cargo vessel that ordered the illegal dumping of oil-contaminated waste into the ocean was sentenced Friday to three years probation by a US District Court judge.

Dimitrios Dimitrakis, chief engineer of the 26,000-ton bulker M/V New Fortune, was also assessed $5,100 in fines by the court.

The case stems from a February boarding of the Marshall Islands-flagged New Fortune by the United States Coast Guard for a routine inspection as the vessel arrived in the Bay Area for a call at the Port of Oakland.

Coast Guard inspectors found the vessel had been outfitted with a bypass tube that allowed ship personnel to circumvent the vessel's waste storage and treatment equipment and dump oil-contaminated waste material directly in the ocean. Further inspection revealed that the bypass piping, which is illegal under US and international law, had recently been used.

Inspectors also found false entries in the vessel's Oil Record Book, where all transfers or overboard discharges of sludge, oil-contaminated waste, and bilge water are supposed to be logged.

The operator of the New Fortune, Greek-based Transmar Shipping Co., was ordered by a US District Court judge last month to pay a $850,000 in fines related to the case. The vessel's second engineer, who pleaded guilty to the charges related to the false Oil Record Book entries, was also sentenced to two years probation and fined $700.

Feds Find New Ag Pest in SoCal Ports Shipment

Federal government inspectors have found a species of tiny agricultural pest at the Southern California ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles that has not been seen before in the United States.

The species of leafhopper, found by inspectors last month in a shipment of pineapples from Costa Rica, has the potential to damage grapes, potatoes, soybeans and corn.

Leafhoppers feed on plant sap by piercing plants with their mouthparts. Widely known as an agricultural pest, the leafhoppers can introduce plant pathogens such as viruses and bacteria through their feeding. While some of the 20,000 species of leafhoppers feed off numerous plants, some are very plant specific, including the beet leafhopper, the potato leafhopper and the white apple leafhopper. Federal officials did not identify the newly discovered species of leafhopper.

The leafhopper discovery was the second time in the past two months that federal inspectors have found a previously unseen-in-the-US agriculture pest at the Southern California ports. In June, inspectors found a previously unseen type of aphid.

Last year, federal and California state inspectors found the European grape moth in Bay Area traps. The federal government believes that moth arrived through the Bay Area ports and that the pest could threaten the state's $18 billion a year wine making industry. In June, the federal government added an addition $1.75 million to the $3 million already allocated to combat the spread of the moth.

Schneider to Sell US, Chinese Forwarding and Brokerage Services to French Firm

Global supply chain firm Schneider Logistics has agreed to sell its freight forwarding and customs house brokerage business in the United States and China to French transportation and logistics firm Norbert Dentressangle.

Schneider officials said the deal, expected to close Oct. 1, will not affect Schneider's other supply chain services, including transloading, warehousing, distribution, port dray services, inland logistics management, supply chain management, brokerage or domestic China transportation services.

A statement by Schneider also said that there will be no job losses through the sale and all Schneider employees impacted by the sale are expected to become employees of Norbert Dentressangle.

The sale affects seven Schneider locations in the US (San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Atlanta, New York and Chicago) and two locations in China (Tianjin and Shanghai).

Financial details of the sale were not released.

The 21-year-old Norbert Dentressangle is a $3.5 billion a year firm with 27,000 employees throughout 355 locations in 17 countries.

The firm, based in Lyon, France, has nearly 7,000 tractors, just over 6,500 trailers and 5.3 million square feet of warehouse space.

Schneider CEO and President Chris Lofgren said his firm's freight forwarding and customs house brokerage business no longer fit with Schneider's strategic focus on the core business of truckload, logistics and intermodal services.

Long Beach Port Inaugurates New China Service

The Port of Long Beach has welcomed the first call of a new transpac container service by Chinese government-owned carrier Hainan PO Shipping.

The 20-month-old carrier's 2,825-TEU Suzhou Dragon called at Long Beach's Pier J container terminal last week to inaugurate the new service. The carrier has already established several inter-China services as well as routes from China to Australia and Vietnam.

The new Long Beach service is part of Hainan P O Shipping's CAE Express service.

“The ‘CAE Express’ connecting central and north China to Long Beach and select intermodal gateways is the next step in the development of PO Shipping’s commitment to meeting the growing needs of the market and our customer base,” said President of PO Shipping USA K.K. Chan.

The start of the new service underscores the continued resurgence of the international shipping industry and the ongoing demand for berths at the Port of Long Beach, the second-busiest container seaport in the United States, said Port of Long Beach Executive Director Richard D. Steinke.

The weekly CAE Express service utilizes five vessels – including the Suzhou Dragon – ranging in capacity from 2,700 TEUs to 3,500 TEUs. The new service is expected to add 150,000 TEUs a year to Long Beach's annual volume tally.

Tacoma Port Faces EPA Order to Restore Damaged Wetlands

The United States Environmental Protection Agency has ordered the Port of Tacoma to restore wetlands destroyed by un-permitted port work at two locations in the Commencement Bay area.

The EPA announced last week that an investigation by the agency, conducted with the Army Corps of Engineers, uncovered the destroyed wetlands.

The area in question is located on the Hylebos Peninsula at the former Hylebos Marsh Wildlife Restoration Project site. In 2008, the port and a port contractor cleared and graded over four acres of wetlands at Hylebos Marsh in an attempt to eradicate an invasive snail infestation at the request of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Washington State Department of Agriculture.

However, the USDA order to deal with the snail only provided for clearing and grading in non-wetland areas. The USDA also informed the port that any "mechanized land clearing" in the wetland areas would require a Clean Water Act permit. According to the EPA's Region 10 office, the port never obtained the proper Clean Water Act permit – a violation of federal law.

Prior to the damage caused by the port, the Hylebos Marsh contained mature forested wetlands.

The investigation also uncovered a prior violation, when the port filled in just over an acre of destroyed wetlands near the former Kaiser Aluminum Smelter site in 2006. According to the EPA's Region 10 office, "the port and its contractors used heavy equipment to dump soil, concrete, asphalt and other materials into the wetlands."

Both of the port-damaged wetland areas drain directly into Commencement Bay, a major South Puget Sound waterway and also an environmental priority area for the EPA.

The EPA has ordered that the port restore the two damaged wetland areas to their original condition. If the port fails to comply, it could face penalties of up to $37,500 per day.

Tacoma port officials have not publicly addressed the EPA order.

Fidley Watch - Bugs

Last month a NOAA scientist, Dr. Bill Lehr, told a group of Congressional staff investigators on a conference call that a controversial National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) report claiming that nearly three-quarters of the oil from the Gulf oil spill has already been addressed was released by White House officials and not scientists at NOAA. Although White House officials at an early August press briefing had said that the report had been thoroughly peer reviewed, Dr. Lehr told congressional investigators that the data backing up the assertions made in the report is still unavailable and that peer review of the report is still not complete.

“This is yet another in a long line of examples where the White House’s pre-occupation with the public relations of the oil spill has superseded the realities on the ground,” says Rep. Darrel Issa (R, CA), ranking member of the House Committee on oversight and Government Reform. Issa says there is a perception that the Obama White House is more concerned about appearing competent than actually making sure the massive oil spill in the Gulf gets cleaned-up as quickly as possible.

It is understandable that the White House would like the Gulf spill to go away, but if rhetoric isn’t the answer, maybe bugs are the answer.

Also last month, but too late for the White House to claim credit, scientists discovered a new type of oil-eating microbe that is suddenly thriving in the Gulf of Mexico.

Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California reported that the microbe works without significantly depleting oxygen in the water. The findings suggest a great potential for bacteria to help dispose of oil plumes in the deep-sea, according to a statement released by researcher Terry Hazen.

“Our findings show that the influx of oil profoundly altered the microbial community by significantly stimulating deep-sea” cold temperature bacteria that are closely related to known petroleum-degrading microbes, Hazen reports.

Hazen suggested that the bacteria might have adapted over time due to periodic leaks and natural seeps of oil in the Gulf.

The research was supported in part by the University of Oklahoma Research Foundation and the US Department of Energy, but mostly by an existing grant with the Energy Biosciences Institute, a partnership led by the University of California Berkeley and the University of Illinois that is funded by a $500 million, 10-year grant from BP.

This discovery may not let BP off the hook for the spill, but it’s nice to see industry get credit where it’s due.

South Korean Ambassador Tours Tacoma Port, Talks Trade Deal

South Korean Ambassador to the United States Han Duk-soo toured several maritime facilities at the Port of Tacoma Tuesday.

Han's visit, arranged through the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber and US Chamber of Commerce, was also an opportunity for the ambassador to drum up support for ratification of the Republic of Korea-United States Free Trade Agreement, also known as the KORUS FTA.

Negotiations on the agreement began in February, 2006 and were completed in April, 2007. The treaty was signed by President George Bush on June 30, 2007 but has yet to be ratified by the US Congress.

If ratified, the agreement would lift roughly 85 percent of each nation's tariffs on industrial goods, and also create new protections for multinational financial services and other firms. The agreement would also, if ratified, become the first free trade agreement between the United States and a major Asian economy.

In June, President Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak gave a November 2010 deadline for the two governments to resolve any outstanding issues regarding the agreement.

Last year, the Port of Tacoma handled more than $2.5 billion worth of Korean-related trade.

US imports of Korean goods totaled $22.5 billion in the first half of the year, a 35 percent increase over the same period last year. US exports to Korea totaled $20.4 billion in the first six months of the year, a 40 percent increase over the same period last year.

Korea, the third largest international trading partner with the United States, is also one of the largest export markets for US agricultural products.

The KORUS FTA would add $10 billion to $12 billion a year to the U.S. Gross Domestic Product, according to estimates by the US International Trade Commission. The commission also estimated that the agreement, if ratified, would increase annual US exports to Korea by $10 billion.

Industry Solutions Help to Cut Truck Wait Times at SoCal Ports

Container terminal truck queuing times at the Southern California ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles appear to be abating according to members of the industry.

Queuing times became an issue last year after most Southern California terminals eliminated a weeknight or weekend gate citing financial concerns. Trucking and terminal officials have said that trucking calls at some terminals fell as much as 30 percent following the global economic meltdown that began in late 2008. Removing the gates in the face of declining volumes was seen as a viable cost-cutting measure.

However, as container volumes began to spring back late last year, trucks began to pile up outside of the existing gates – especially during the 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. period as truckers waited for nighttime gates to open. Many truckers are instructed to wait for the nighttime gates to avoid a daytime traffic congestion fee.

By some estimates truck wait times around the crunch periods – when the nighttime gates open at 6 p.m. and when the gates open first thing in the morning – were reaching as 45 minutes or longer.

Trucks are not allowed under state law to queue within the terminal for more than 20 minutes, so many line up just outside the ports or sit on the side of nearby streets.

In the early summer, an industry stakeholder group was organized to develop solutions to the problem. The group, which first met in late July, came up with several recommendations.

One, which was implemented following the group's July 29 meeting by 11 of 13 terminals, was to reinstate the gates eliminated last year.

In addition, several terminals are also running a so-called flex gate between the 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. period when terminals are normally closed as the terminals move from day to night shifts.

Numerous trucking firms have said that the restoration of the additional gates has decreased the waiting times.

A study conducted through the University of California, Santa Barbara appears to back up the anecdotal evidence, albeit based on moves at a single terminal. The study found that at the single terminal studied 56 percent of trucks waited less than 10 minutes, 34 percent waited 10-30 minutes, and only 10 percent of the sampled trucks waited more than 30 minutes.

The stakeholders group plans to continue meeting and have already suggested several longer-term solutions to gate congestion such as a port-wide truck appointment system.

LA Port to Move Quickly to Put Full Truck Plan Into Effect

Just days after a federal judge upheld the Port of Los Angeles Clean Trucks Program, port officials have indicated they will move quickly to implement previously-blocked components of the truck plan – including a contentious component requiring port-servicing trucking firms to hire only per-hour employee drivers.

Last week, Judge Snyder ruled that the Clean Truck Program, including an access license scheme that uses port-defined criteria to determine who can and cannot enter the port, was exempt from federal laws because the landlord port operated as a market participant in the trucking industry.

The American Trucking Associations sued the port in July 2008 on the grounds that certain portions of the access license scheme violated the United States Constitution and other federal laws.

On Tuesday, port attorneys filed a "final form of judgment" with Judge Christina Snyder of the US District Court for the Central District of California.

The final form lists the port's requested final terms of the suit.

The port is asking the court to take four actions: a judgment in favor of the Los Angeles port and other defendants; a dismissal of any "claims of relief" by the ATA; the removal of the injunctions currently blocking portions of the truck program; and, an order for the ATA to pay all defendant legal costs.

Judge Snyder issued the injunction in April 2009 after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned her September 2008 denial of an injunction to the ATA.

Judge Snyder is expected to sign the port-drafted judgment within the next several weeks. The ATA will then have a 14-day period to appeal the ruling and ask the Ninth Circuit to maintain the injunction until the full appeals process is completed. The injunction will stay in effect during this 14-day period.

The ATA has confirmed it will appeal Judge Snyder's ruling.

Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Knatz, while not mentioning the possibility of a Ninth Circuit stay on the current injunction, said she would consider implementing the previously-blocked portions of the truck plan as soon as the next harbor commission meeting, which is anticipated to take place on Sept. 16. Knatz also said that a plan to offer an extended compliance period – during which trucking firms would be required to attain compliance with the previously-blocked portions of the truck plan, including the employee-only mandate – may be considered.