NW Seaport Alliance Approves Terminal Upgrades

By Mark Edward Nero

The Northwest Seaport Alliance, which is an operational partnership between the Port of Seattle and Port of Tacoma, has approved $141 million worth of construction and cranes to dock two of the largest container ships simultaneously at Husky Terminal in the South Harbor.

The Alliance’s actions, which were taken on April 7, also include a 20-year lease extension, allowing Husky Terminal and Stevedoring to operate the terminal until 2046.

“This is a real historic moment for the alliance,” Port of Seattle Commission President John Creighton said during the meeting. “It’s the first major investment that the two commissions will be approving in our harbors and our gateway.”

The Husky Terminal upgrades include reconstruction of Pier 4 to align it with Pier 3, which would create a contiguous 2,960-foot berth, as well as the purchase of two more super-post-Panamax cranes to join two already ordered. The improvements would allow two 18,000-TEU ships to dock at the same time.

Plans for the reconstructed berth also include conduit for future shore power to allow ships to plug into electricity while at dock.

Construction is estimated to be done in 2018. Future planned Terminal 5 improvements in the North Harbor are currently under environmental review.

Another Longshore Worker Injured at Tacoma Port

For the fourth time in three months, a longshore worker has been injured in an accident at the Port of Tacoma.

The latest incident occurred May 12 while the longshoreman was working on a ship in the Olympic Container Terminal, according to the port. A bar the worker was using to remove lashings from containers on a ship slipped from his control and hit him in the eye and cheek, according to port spokeswoman Tara Mattina.

The Tacoma Fire Department responded to the ship just before 6 p.m. and transported the unidentified worker to St. Joseph Medical Center with not life-threatening injuries.

The injury is the fourth to a longshore worker at the port since March; two of the previous incidents were fatal. The port was temporarily shut down March 25 after refrigerator mechanic Dana Gorham died about 8 am that day while working at the APM Terminal. According to port workers, Gorham was working from a five-foot ladder when he fell from the ladder, possibly after being shocked by a nearby electrical cable.

According to the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s office however, the 57-year-old Gorham had an enlarged heart and the cause of death was ruled a heart attack.

In a March 12 incident, 46-year-old crane mechanic Jeff Surber died around noon while atop a crane he had been maintaining at Pierce County Terminal. He was making adjustments to the wire ropes used to raise the metal containers to and from the ship’s deck, according to the International Longshore & Warehouse Union.

The medical examiner’s report said Surber died of blunt force trauma to the head.

Also in March, a longshoreman suffered minor injuries while lashing down containers on a ship in Tacoma’s Husky Terminal. He apparently missed a step while climbing and fell to the ship’s deck.

Port of Tacoma to Dredge Blair Waterway

The Port of Tacoma says it expects to seek bids in December for a plan to deepen the water around one of its main containership terminals. The action is being taken, according to the port, to counter an increase in sediment from the nearby Puyallup River, which has been collecting along piers 3 and 4.

According to the port’s lease with containership operator “K” Line, there’s a mandated water depth of at least 51 feet at the terminal during low tide so that ships can tie up. But with that stipulation not currently being met, “K” Line has adjusted its containership schedules so that its ships usually call on Husky Terminal during higher tides.

The dredging activities, which are expected to eliminate silt from a half-mile long, 150 foot wide area at a cost of about $1.5 million, are due for completion by mid-February, according to the port.

The dredged sediment and other materials are expected to be placed in either on land or a deep-water disposal area.