Friday, October 5, 2018

$50 Million to Test Zero Emissions

By Karen Robes Meeks

The Port of Long Beach recently secured a $50 million grant from the California Air Resources Board to demonstrate a zero-emissions supply chain.

The port will test close to 100 pieces of zero-emissions terminal equipment and trucks at the ports of Long Beach, Oakland and Stockton, as well as create a near-zero emissions tugboat, deploy two clean ships and push workforce development programs.

“The Board of Harbor Commissioners envision a zero-emissions future in Long Beach,” said Board President Tracy Egoscue. “This project accelerates the commercialization for the technology we need to get there, incorporating seaports, terminal operators, equipment manufacturers, schools and universities from all around the state. The Harbor Commission is very thankful to the California Air Resources Board for seeing the potential in this project.”

The grant funds:
• Thirty-three zero-emissions yard tractors and one top handler
at Pier C
• Five electric trucks at Shippers Transport
• Two charging outlets at the Clean Trucks Program Center
• Two Matson container vessels with Tier 3 engines, and
• Harley Marine electric-drive tugboats

The demonstration will see a clean ship come to SSA Marine Pier C lead by an electric-drive tugboat and then plug into shore power. Battery-electric yard tractors and top handler cargo-handling equipment will move the cargo off the ship and put it on an electric truck to Shippers Transport, an off-dock container yard.

Oakland will receive nearly $9 million to be allocated toward 10 battery-powered trucks for port tenant Shippers Transport Express and five zero-emission yard trucks. The port also plans to invest up to $2 million toward building battery-changing stations.

“Our goal is to minimize the impact of containerized freight transportation on air quality,” said Richard Sinkoff, director of environmental programs and planning at the Port. “Zero-emission vehicles play a big role in that effort.”

The $102 million overall project is expected to be completed by June 2021 and includes $52 million in private and public matching funds.

Redwood City PortFest

By Karen Robes Meeks

The Port of Redwood City is celebrating the waterfront with a free all-day community event on Oct. 6.

PortFest 2018 starts at 10 a.m. with a welcome ceremony featuring the Moffett Squadron Sea Cadet Color Guard, the West Bay Community Band, while Rep. Jackie Speier and Redwood City Mayor Ian Bain will address the crowd. Shortly after the ceremony, the Redwood City Fire Department Fireboat Sequoia Guardian will perform a water cannon display.

Festivities will also include live music, food trucks and booths, boat rides, children’s activities and other displays. The History Museum Woodside Store’s special interactive logging experience exhibit will celebrate the port’s history as a logging port in the 1800s.

Don’t miss the 45-minute harbor tours aboard the Robert G. Brownlee, as well as Working Waterfront tours and the opportunity to ride in a 16-person rowing barge.

PortFest runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Port of Redwood City waterfront on Seaport Court at Seaport Blvd.

Visit www.rwcportfest.com for more information.

Fish and Wildlife Personnel Evacuated

By Karen Robes Meeks

Four US Fish and Wildlife personnel have been evacuated off Johnston Atoll on Monday before the arrival of Hurricane Walaka, according to the US Coast Guard.

The four members of a field biology crew were working out of a year-round field camp on the Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. They were picked up by a Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules aircrew from Air Station Barbers Point.

"Johnston Atoll is extremely remote and difficult to reach. Our resources place us in a position to lend assistance to our partners with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and we are glad [to] help,” said Capt. Robert Hendrickson, chief of response, Coast Guard 14th District. “We encourage anyone operating in the Pacific to keep an eye on the weather as this storm moves toward the Northwest Hawaiian Islands."

Johnston Atoll is in the central Pacific Ocean, between the Hawaiian Islands and the Line Islands.

"The safety of our staff and volunteers is always our primary concern," said Laura Beauregard, acting Refuge and Monument Supervisor for the US Fish and Wildlife Service. "We are grateful to our partners, US Coast Guard, for their assistance getting our folks back to Honolulu from one of the most remote field camps in the Pacific."

Gong to the Mattresses

By Karen Robes Meeks

More than 300 potentially unsafe mattresses were recently seized by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the Port of Tacoma. The mattresses, which are valued at over $50,000, were pulled because of “consumer safety concerns for the flammability of materials used in the manufacturing process,” according to the CBP.

“CBP is focused on identifying and intercepting imported consumer products that do not meet our country’s consumer product safety standards,” said Mark Wilkerson, director of CBP’s Area Port of Seattle. “The enforcement of US consumer safety laws at our ports of entry is, and will continue to be, a high-priority. The importation of unsafe consumer products threatens the well-being of the American people and can damage the economy of the United States.”

Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Port of Camas-Washougal Adds Acreage

By Karen Robes Meeks

The Port of Camas-Washougal announced in August that it finalized purchase of the former Hambleton Lumber Co. site, an 11-acre property along the Columbia River near the port’s recreational boating marina.

Under the sale agreement, Killian Pacific sold 11 acres to the port to allow for more public access. In exchange, Killian was able to buy 8.5 acres of adjoining land from the port and plans to add housing to the Parkers Landing mixed-use expansion.

"I'm pleased we have been able to secure public access to the waterfront,” said Port Executive Director David Ripp. “What's more, this purchase will enable the port to directly connect our existing land to the east and provide a way for the community to enjoy amenities along the length of the port-owned waterfront once the Waterfront is developed. The port's mission, and its intent, is to maintain public access to the waterfront in any future development.”

Kalama Adding Tenants

By Karen Robes Meeks

The Port of Kalama, Washington will soon welcome Bridger Steel and Marco Industries to its port.

Both businesses are moving into the Kalama River Industrial Park Building.

Bridger Steel, a manufacturer of panel systems that is used for roofing, siding and interior applications, is the first tenant the port secured for its new 110,000-square-foot industrial facility.

Bridger Steel is leasing 30,000-square feet of space for office and warehouse use, as well as 10,000-square feet of sheltered area for truck loading at Kalama River Industrial Park.

A grand opening event to welcome both businesses will take place from 4 to 7 p.m. on Oct. 5 at 2550 Hendrickson Drive, Kalama River Industrial Park Building 7418.

Port of LA Project Wins Engineering Award

By Karen Robes Meeks

The Metropolitan Los Angeles Branch of the American Society of Civil Engineers has named the Port of Los Angeles’s Harbor Boulevard and Plaza Park improvement project Outstanding Roadway and Highway Project of the Year 2018.

The project called for redesigning a three-street intersection at Harbor Boulevard, 7th Street and Miner Street in San Pedro to prepare the area for the new San Pedro Public Market, which is expected to open in 2020, according to the port.

The new intersection reconfiguration features new traffic signals, crosswalks and bike lanes for better public access to waterfront attractions.

“The Harbor Boulevard improvements have resulted in safer and more seamless traffic flow through the area, which is of particular importance as we gear up for the San Pedro Public Market,” said Tony Gioiello, the port’s deputy director of development. “This project has also greatly enhanced the aesthetics of the intersection, providing a new and welcoming commuter and pedestrian gateway to the LA Waterfront.”

Long Beach Will Tackle Global Warming

By Karen Robes Meeks

The Port of Long Beach is launching the World Ports Climate Action Program with ports in Los Angeles, Rotterdam, Barcelona, Antwerp and Vancouver, Canada in an effort to develop projects that tackle global warming and reach the greenhouse gas emissions-reducing goals of the Paris Agreement.

The program will specifically look at using digital tools to raise supply chain efficiency, pushing emissions reduction and speeding up renewable energy and other zero-emission efforts.

“This partnership helps to raise awareness about global warming throughout the port industry and ensures that we are working toward the same goals on an international scale,” said Mario Cordero, executive director of the Port of Long Beach. “For us to make an impact, it really needs to be a global impact. Improving the air quality in Southern California is important, but we need to work together globally to make a real difference when it comes to dealing with climate change.”