SoCal Marine Exchange Names New Executive Director

Capt. James Kipling “Kip” Louttit has been named as the new Executive Director of the Marine Exchange of Southern California.

Capt. Jim Morgan, President of the Marine Exchange Board of Directors, announced the selection in late January after a recruitment process that attracted candidates from across the United States.

“We were fortunate to have several highly qualified candidates apply, which made it difficult to make our selection,” Morgan said. “We’re pleased with our choice, and Capt. Louttit tells me he’s eager to get started.”

Louttit, who retired from the US Coast Guard after 30 years of service, replaces Capt. Dick McKenna, who announced his retirement in the fall 2012.

Louttit’s experience includes 10 years at sea, including six years in command of three different Coast Guard cutters, and two years as commanding officer of USCG Integrated Support Command in San Pedro, California. When the Department of Homeland Security was established, he served as the first Acting Director of Budget for the new agency.

After retirement from the Coast Guard, Louttit provided consultancy services to the Coast Guard and Department of Defense. He’ll relocate to the San Pedro area from his present home in Chevy Chase, MD. At the Marine Exchange, he’ll lead a staff of 20 civilians and a US Coast Guard contingent of nine, with an annual budget of $2.4 million. The Marine Exchange of Southern California, a non-profit organization first established in 1923, is unique among the nation’s vessel traffic services in having a public/private partnership with the USCG.

Capt. McKenna’s retirement is effective March 31. McKenna, who is in his seventies, joined the Marine Exchange as deputy executive director in 1993 and has been executive director since 2008.

In addition to providing critical maritime information to more than 200 customers per month, McKenna was instrumental in establishing the Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) at the Marine Exchange, which monitors and facilitates the safe navigation of all commercial ship traffic within a 25-mile arc around the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex.

LA/Long Beach Labor Strike Ends

The Los Angeles/Long Beach port complex is fully operational again after an eight-day strike that shut down 10 of the complex’s 14 terminals.

Late in the evening on Dec. 4, International Longshore Union Local 63, which represents about several hundred clerical workers, and the LA/Long Beach Harbor Employers Association, which represents 14 shippers and terminal operators, managed to reach an agreement on a new contract that runs through 2016. Neither side would initially reveal details of the contract.

The strike, which began at noon on Nov. 27, was launched after more than two years of negotiations. The clerical staffers had been working without a contract since their previous three-year pact with management expired June 30, 2010.

“The resulting agreements are good for workers, good for employers and – most of all – important in enabling our Southern California ports to get back to work,” the Employers Association said in a prepared statement regarding the deal. “Our nation’s economy depends on the ports, and these agreements pave the way for continued growth in the months and years ahead.”

The main sticking point in negotiations wasn’t believed to be wages, but outsourcing. The union had contended that management wanted to implement new technology that would lead to fewer human workers being necessary.

The employers’ group had maintained that implementation of new technology is needed to improve efficiency.

But the ILWU has specifically opposed technology that would allow customers to directly access booking information, saying it could lead to the outsourcing of jobs. The union had also sought to have language included in the contract specifying that workers would not be laid off.

In a statement released after the deal was reached, the union said it has won “new protections that will help prevent jobs from being outsourced to Texas, Taiwan and beyond.”

“Our campaign was always focused on securing good jobs and stopping the outsourcing that threatened working families in our harbor communities,” ILWU International Vice President Ray Familathe, who helped coordinate the strike and assist the local in negotiations, said.

During the strike, 20 ships were rerouted to other West Coast ports, according to the Marine Exchange of Southern California, while another 13 vessels were idle in and around the port complex’s waters.

Although Local 63 only represents about 800 dockworkers at the port complex, its strike was effective because it was honored by its much larger sister, Local 13, which has about 7,000 registered members and represents almost 20,000 part- and full-time longshore workers who discharge cargo at the adjoining ports.

SoCal Marine Exchange Director Retirement

After nearly two decades with the Marine Exchange of Southern California, Executive Director Capt. Dick McKenna has announced his retirement, effective March 31, 2013. Capt. McKenna, 70, joined the Marine Exchange as deputy executive director in 1993 and has been the executive director since 2008.

Before joining the Marine Exchange, Capt. McKenna served 28 years in the US Navy, retiring with the rank of Captain. He was recently honored by the Harbor Association of Industry and Commerce with its Lifetime Achievement Award.

“His contributions to the Southern California maritime industry are noteworthy and appreciated by all whom had the privilege of working with him,” Capt. Jim Morgan, President of the Marine Exchange Board of Directors, said of McKenna. “We wish him a long and well deserved retirement. We thank him for his leadership, passion for maritime commerce and above all, his friendship.”

In addition to providing critical maritime information to over 200 customers per month, McKenna was instrumental in establishing the Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) at the Marine Exchange, which monitors and facilitates the safe navigation of all commercial ship traffic within a 25-mile arc around the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.

He also oversaw the installation of a 100 percent renewable energy installation, consisting of an 80-kW solar power project complemented by a wind turbine system generating 7.2 kW.

Currently, he leads a staff of 20 civilians, and a 10-person US Coast Guard contingent, with an annual budget of $2.4 million. The non-profit Marine Exchange is unique among the nation’s VTS in having a public/private partnership with the USCG.

An open recruitment is now underway for the Executive Director position. Information on the recruitment is posted at the Marine Exchange homepage, www.mxsocal.org.

SoCal Marine Exchange Goes Green

A solar and wind power system that generates all the electricity needed to support the tracking of vessels entering and leaving waters from San Diego to Port Hueneme has been put in place at the Marine Exchange of Southern California.

The $450,000 project, which was supported by the Port of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, was designed and built over more than two years. With its unveiling in early August, it means the Marine Exchange, which operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, now runs on electricity generated by a sustainable network of 286 solar panels and four wind turbines.

“We are the modern equivalent of a lighthouse that helps ships find their way safely,” Capt. Richard McKenna, Executive Director of the Marine Exchange, said. “With this project, we are also a figurative lighthouse helping to guide the way to cleaner, greener operations in the San Pedro Bay.”

The system generates more than 87 kW, which is enough to support the Marine Exchange’s up to 60 kW power needs and also feed surplus energy into the city’s power grid.

With the help of city grants and rebates, the direct cost to the Marine Exchange is less than $200,000, according to the City of Los Angeles. The Exchange expects to pay off the expense over the next six to seven years, partially through the savings it will receive by not having to pay an electricity bill.

It previously spent up about $20,000 annually in energy costs, according to the City of Los Angeles.