The Port of Seattle and Eagle Marine Services, which
operates Terminal 5 at the port, announced a proposal on May 16 to relocate EMS’
cargo and breakbulk activities to another terminal so that Terminal 5 can be
modernized in order to handle larger vessels.
Under the proposal, EMS would shift its operations to
Terminal 18, allowing it to preserve container volume and ship calls. Cargo
destined to T5 would begin transitioning to T18 in mid-June. The proposal is still
tentative, pending final approval by the Port of Seattle Commission, however
some commissioners have already indicated they’re in favor of the plan.
“If we’re going to keep jobs in Washington state, we need
investments that make us globally competitive,” Port of Seattle Commissioner
Bill Bryant said. “That’s why we’re rebuilding T5.”
While three of the port’s container terminals are already
home to Super Post-Panamax cranes that service 10,000 TEU vessels and above,
the existing cranes at Terminal 5 are not able to handle these bigger ships.
“T5 needs to be modernized for the bigger ships that are
already here, we applaud the port in working with us to preserve our customers’
cargo through this gateway,” Eagle Marine Services COO Nathaniel Seeds said in
a statement.
In addition to the potential Terminal 5 rebuild, the port
has also received approval from the federal government to let the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers begin studying the potential for a project that may result
in the deepening of the West Waterway channel near the terminal.
“As we are working to preserve maritime jobs in Seattle, the
Commission is moving forward to strengthen cooperation with the Port of Tacoma
to increase trade in Puget Sound,” Port of Seattle Commissioner John Creighton
said. “We’re having productive talks on
how we can make the Puget Sound gateway more competitive and create new jobs.”
