Tacoma Port Pulls Plug on New NYK Terminal

After spending more than $190 million on developing a new 168-acre container terminal for Tokyo-based NYK Line, officials at the Port of Tacoma and the shipping line have officially terminated the project.

Port commissioners voted last week to officially scrap the 2007 deal and sign a new deal with NYK that will see the Japanese line use an existing Tacoma facility. In scrapping the old deal, port officials cited a drop in port revenue due to the downturn in the global economy and projections that the final NYK project could cost $400 million more than the original $800 million estimate.

The new deal calls for NYK to begin using the port's existing APM Terminal by July 2012. Maersk previously called at the terminal until the shipping line vacated the facility in May to head to the Port of Seattle.

The 2007 deal called for the port to develop the east side of the Blair Waterway into a new terminal for NYK, after relocating tenant Totem Ocean Trailer Express and constructing road and rail infrastructure.

The port has already spent $35 million in design costs for the Blair Waterway NYK terminal, relocation of Totem to another site and infrastructure development. In addition, the port spent $146 million to acquire property and demolish vacant buildings, $6 million on site remediation and permitting, and $3 million in staff costs.

In the wake of the decision to cancel the original NYK project, Tacoma port commissioners are expected to meet with port executive director Tim Farrell in closed session Thursday to discuss his future with the port.

Canadian Firm Looks at Second LB Terminal

British Columbia-based Polaris Minerals Corporation announced Wednesday that it has secured an option to secure an existing privately-held 8.3-acre marine aggregate terminal located within the Port of Long Beach.

The facility, located on one of the port's deepwater channels, is currently permitted to receive and distribute up to 3 million tons of construction aggregates per year.

The option extends to June 30, 2010, during which Polaris will carry out due diligence reviews of the property. Polaris plans to use Panamax vessels to deliver sand and gravel to the Long Beach site from Polaris's Orca Quarry situated on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

In 2008, a subsidiary of Polaris purchased a 12.4 acre site within the Port of Long Beach for just more than $15 million to use for importing sand and gravel, and will move forward with the purchase. The site, to be operated by the Polaris joint venture company Cemera Long Beach LLC, is currently undergoing permitting review.

Polaris also exports aggregate material from its Orca Quarry to San Francisco, Vancouver and Hawaii.

The two Long Beach sites sit within the Port of Long Beach boundaries but are not controlled by the municipally governed port authority. The sites are two of only a handful of privately-owned plots within the jurisdiction of the City of Long Beach's Harbor Department. Like all commercial ports in California, the Long Beach port is owned by the state and operated by the city under trust.