TraPac Completes Oakland Expansion

By Karen Robes Meeks

On Thursday, TraPac marine terminal completed a two-year, $67 million project to boost the capacity of the Port of Oakland’s second-biggest terminal with the opening of its newest vessel berth.

The project expanded the terminal from 66 to 123 acres, added three more ship-to-shore cranes and features a third 1,400-foot-long dock to accommodate megaships.

“We are grateful to dockworkers, truckers, carriers, cargo owners and all of our stakeholders for working with us during this buildout,” said TraPac Operations Vice President Brian Bauer. “We forecast continued cargo growth in Oakland and we are ready for it.”

About 15 percent of the containers that come through Oakland are handled by TraPac, which inked a 14-year lease with the port in 2016.That cargo includes refrigerated containers bound for Japan, so TraPac boosted plug-in spaces from 388 to 860 to store refrigerated boxes during the expansion, the company said.

TraPac also opened a new gate complex for harbor truckers and acquired nine pieces of cargo-handling equipment.

Oakland’s Night Gates Pay Off

By Karen Robes Meeks

Thanks to the introduction of a new strategy, the Port of Oakland is seeing more truck visits at night now than at any other time in its nearly 100-year history.

Two years ago, Oakland International Container Terminal (OICT) was the first to open a second shift to ease heavy daytime operations. Truck transaction times went from waits of up to three hours to an average of 60 to 90 minutes, and night gates now account for about 30 percent of its daily volume, according to OICT.

“We’ve spread out the truck traffic and improved the drivers’ turn times,” said Jim Rice, general manager at Oakland International Container Terminal. “Night gates have allowed us to operate nine shifts a week with a domino effect: there’s less traffic and congestion and it’s easier for cargo owners to pick up their shipments.”

Meanwhile, TraPac marine terminal has been testing night gates.

“Night operations have transformed the Port,” said Executive Director Chris Lytle. “No more 8 to 5 work days… we’re too busy for that.”

TraPac Oakland Terminal Expansion Could Begin This Month

By Mark Edward Nero

Work could begin later in November to nearly double the size of the Port of Oakland’s second-largest marine terminal.

TraPac LLC said Oct. 31 that it’s ready to begin construction on a 57-acre expansion at the Port of Oakland’s Outer Harbor. The port's Board of Port Commissioners approved the project at an Oct. 27 meeting.

TraPac has signed a new 14-year lease with the port to grow from 66 to 123 acres. It will add two vessel berths to the two it already operates. The terminal operator said a larger footprint will help it absorb additional cargo volume.

“With this expansion, we’re making a long-term commitment to our customers and to the Port of Oakland,” TraPac Oakland General Manager Mike Porte said. “Now that the approval process has concluded, we’re eager to get on with the necessary improvements, and we’ll be doing so aggressively.”

TraPac is growing into property adjacent to its existing terminal. It said construction on a new entrance gate could start later this month. Refurbishment of the remaining acreage would follow soon thereafter, the company added.

TraPac, which is based in the Los Angeles area and handles about 20 percent of the containerized cargo volume shipped through the Port of Oakland, has said it expects to complete the improvements within 10 months.

TraPac Doubling Oakland Footprint

By Mark Edward Nero

Container terminal operator and stevedore TraPac LLC plans to nearly double its marine terminal size at the Port of Oakland, the company revealed Oct. 13.

TraPac, which began Oakland operations in 1991 and also manages terminals in Los Angeles and Jacksonville, Florida says it plans to lease an additional 57 acres and two vessel berths on the Port of Oakland’s Outer Harbor. If the deal is approved, it would strengthen TraPac’s position as the second-largest terminal operator in Oakland.

According to the Port of Oakland, TraPac will invest to upgrade and modernize the new terminal acreage under its control in Oakland. Among other things, TraPac says it plans to construct a new gate to give harbor truckers better access to the terminal.

TraPac disclosed its plans at the most recent meeting of Oakland’s Board of Port Commissioners. The proposed 14-year lease agreement with the port becomes final if the Board approves it at an Oct. 27 meeting.

“This is a significant step forward for TraPac and the port,” Oakland Maritime Director John Driscoll said. “TraPac gets room to expand its thriving business and the port gets to revitalize valuable property with a highly respected tenant.”

TraPac, which handles 20 percent of the containerized cargo moving through the Port of Oakland, manages two vessel berths and 66 acres of land. Under the new agreement, it would have four berths and 123 acres, with much of the land used for cargo handling.

“Our business is growing and placing new demands on our operations,” said Mike Porte, general manager of TraPac’s Oakland site. “With this new agreement we can meet the demands and the service expectations of our customers.”

“With this expansion, we’re demonstrating our long-term commitment to Oakland,” Porte said.

Fire Breaks Out at Port of LA Terminal

A small fire broke out the morning of Oct. 15 at a shipping container facility at the Port of Los Angeles, but was extinguished in under an hour, according to the Los Angeles Fire Dept. No injuries or significant property damage was reported.

The blaze was reported about 7:34 am at the port’s TraPac container terminal.

According to the LAFD, the source of the fire was an electrical transformer, and that after working with the LA Department of Water and Power to ensure power to the transformer had been shut down, the fire was attacked and extinguished in less than 40 minutes.

“Firefighters applied foam and water, fire out,” LAFD spokeswoman Katherine Main said. “No injuries.”

The TraPac terminal, which covers about 173 acres, operates at Port of LA berths 135-139 and serves shipping companies Mitsui OSK Lines, APL Logistics, Hyundai Merchant Marine, CMA/CGM and CSAV.

The terminal is currently in the midst of a multi-year, $71.5 million improvement project. Over the next two years, new buildings and state-of-the-art truck entrance and exit gates are being constructed by contractors. The work is expected to be completed in the summer of 2015.

It is not yet known whether the fire was connected to the work at the terminal, which has been ongoing since early 2013.

Longshoreman Killed When Truck Plunges Into Bay

Operations were temporarily shut down at the Port of Oakland on May 17 after a truck being driven by a longshore worker was apparently knocked into the water by a piece of machinery.

Longshoreman Manuel Stimpson, 78, of San Francisco had worked at the port for about 47 years when he was killed after the truck plunged into the San Francisco Bay.

“He’s a very loved man, he’s like a father to all of us,” Frank Gaskin, a business agent with International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 10 said of Stimpson following the accident.

According to ILWU representatives, Stimpson was working as a clerk and helping direct the placement of containers when the truck went into the water near Berth 30 at the TraPac terminal at 1:36 pm.

The vehicle became stuck in the mud about 50 feet below surface and it wasn’t until about 2:40 pm that port divers were able to pull his body from the truck, according to police. The submerged truck was also recovered.

As is traditional in incidents that result in fatalities, the ILWU suspended work at the port for 24 hours following the accident.

The occurrence is under investigation by the union and the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, the state governmental body commonly known as Cal/OSHA.

Last week’s death was the second fatal accident at the port in seven months. In October 2012, a mechanic performing maintenance on a crane died Oct. 24 after being caught in and crushed by a piece of heavy equipment. Prior to that, however, there hadn’t been an incident at the port resulting in a fatality in at least five years, according to Cal/OSHA.

LA Harbor Board Approves Major Construction Contracts

The Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners has approved more than $127 million in construction contracts for two major projects that would modernize the marine container terminal operated by longtime tenant TraPac, Inc.

“Redevelopment of the TraPac terminal reflects the port’s larger commitment to retaining its global position as America’s premier seaport,” Port of LA Executive Director Geraldine Knatz said. “It also reflects our commitment to job creation and sustainable growth as the pathway to long-term prosperity.”

The projects are key elements of the Port of Los Angeles’ overall capital improvement program, which has the port investing more than $1.2 billion over five years. Both contracts, which were approved Nov. 1, were awarded to California construction firms and are expected to support nearly 1,000 one-year equivalent construction jobs over the next two and half years in the greater Los Angeles five-county region. Work is due to begin in January.

The first contract, a $71.5 million project for new buildings and state-of-the-art truck entrance and exit gates at TraPac’s rear Berths 136-139, was awarded to Costa Mesa, California-based S.J. Amoroso Construction Co. The work includes a new administration building designed to meet the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold standard, a new yard operations building, truck scales and a pedestrian bridge.

The facilities project, which also includes backland and other infrastructure improvements at Berths 145-147, is expected to be completed in the summer of 2015. The second contract is a $55.7 million grade separation project awarded to Sacramento area-based MCM Construction. The South Wilmington Grade Separation involves building an elevated 4,100-foot roadway that links Harry Bridges Boulevard, Pier A Street and Fries Avenue to TraPac’s new entrance and separates truck from rail operations for safer and more efficient flow of traffic.

The work is due to be completed in the spring of 2015.

Both projects are part of a $365 million expansion of the TraPac terminal due to be completed in 2016. In 2009, the port, TraPac and its parent company, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL), signed a 30-year lease that paved the way for the modernization project, which is expected to increase terminal productivity, green operations and generate thousands of jobs throughout Southern California.

LA Port/Enviro Group Redevelopment Pact Questioned

Confusion abounds over a Port of Los Angeles settlement with an environmental coalition over the redevelopment of the TraPac container terminal at the port.

Port officials are questioning whether signatures on the agreement are valid and how this impacts the agreement itself.

In early 2008, LA port commissioners approved a memorandum of understanding between the port and a group of 20 environmental and community groups that allowed the environmental impact report for the much-delayed TraPac terminal expansion to move forward unopposed. The groups had threatened to sue the city to stop the project, which the groups claimed did not “move fast enough or far enough” to reduce pollution from the terminal’s expanded operations.

The decade-old TraPac development project seeks to modernize and expand the 176-acre container terminal to 243 acres. The expansion would also provide the terminal with on-dock rail, expanded berthing capabilities, and improved gate traffic flow by the realignment of a connecting street.

Despite the settlement being approved by the port commission in April 2008, it was not signed until 15 months later on July 15 of this year. Signing for the port was S. David Freeman, who had been president of the commission when the agreement was devised.

The problem is that Freeman resigned from the commission two months earlier in May of this year, raising the issue of whether Freeman's signature on the agreement is legal. Adding more confusion is that the one valid port signature on the agreement document, Executive Director Geraldine Knatz, is not dated.

The issue came up as the LA commission was set to transfer $4 million into a community mitigation fund created as part of the agreement.