Portland, Vancouver USA Port Officials Offer Support to Columbia River Crossing Project

Officials at the Oregon Port of Portland and Washington state port of Vancouver believe that the construction of the Columbia River Crossing Bridge needs to move forward quickly and have set a goal of 2012 for the start of construction.

The Columbia River Crossing is a bridge, transit and highway improvement project for five miles of Interstate 5 from State Route 500 in Vancouver, Washington, to approximately Victory Boulevard in Portland, Oregon. The CRC development team is studying a replacement I-5 bridge over the Columbia River with light rail extending to Clark College.

The leaders of the two ports claim that the CRC, which has raised concerns from local leaders like the mayors of Portland and Vancouver, is needed to help the flow of truck and vehicle traffic on the congested stretch of Interstate 5 freeway between the two cities.

The official website for the CRC project claims, "If no changes are made, congestion will grow from today’s six hour daily traffic jam to 15 hours per day by 2030. This section of I-5 has an accident rate about double that of similar urban highways in the region. Narrow lanes, short on-ramps, and a lack of safety shoulders on the bridge contribute to accidents. Bridge lifts stall all traffic using I-5, add to unsafe driving conditions and increase accident potential."

Following public statements last week from the governors of both Oregon and Washington supporting the CRC, port officials quickly chimed in with their own support.

Vancouver top executive Larry Paulson told Oregon Public Broadcasting this week that ,“We need to plan for the future. I think in terms of the bridge the future is now.” The head of the Portland port, Bill Wyatt, also told OPB, “If we don’t do something about it, nature will. These bridges are really old, they’re seismically unfit, and they’re not serving the needs of our region."

Both agreed with the two governors' statements that the project should be kept to a target of 2012 for the start of construction.

Opponents of the CRC argue that the project will lead to increased sprawl and that current funding mechanisms are inadequate to continue forward at an accelerated pace.

The mayors of Portland and Vancouver, along with a Clark County Commissioner and the head of Metro transit agency officially asked the governors of both states to reexamine the CRC. Since the governors' voicing of support for the CRC, the four have sought to have certain points and impacts fo the project clarified, including the potential for more sprawl in the project region.

Tacoma Port Refuses to Pay "Unfair" EPA Fine

Officials at the Port of Tacoma are refusing to pay a nearly $220,000 negotiated penalty levied by the Environmental Protection Agency over the port's failure to provide documents on the cleanup of the former Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. smelter site.

The port bought the 97-acre Blair Waterway site from Kaiser back in 2003 with the idea to redevelop the property. Under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act program, which is administered by the state Department of Ecology, the port was required to prove that it could pay to clean up the site. Port officials say that the EPA claims that the port repeatedly failed to provide the required documentation by the yearly deadline. The EPA does not comment on pending violations.

Between 2003 and 2008, the port spent millions refurbishing the site in preparation for development of a shipping terminal. In 2008, though, the EPA received directions to begin closely monitoring Resource Conservation and Recovery Act program cases. This led to a federal audit of the state Department of Ecology's RCRA program, including the Kaiser property clean up, and the discovery of the port's missed paperwork deadlines.

After more than a year of negotiations, the port and EPA reportedly failed to come to terms on settling the potential fines from the paperwork violations.

The EPA reportedly wants the port to pay $231,600 in fines, an offer which port officials have refused. While port officials have not specified what they consider fair, they believe the EPA's suggested amount is much too high.

“A small reduction is not what we are after. We are after being treated fairly,” Sue Mauermann, the port’s director of environmental programs, told the Tacoma News Tribune.

EPA officials argue that non-compliance with the paperwork requirements means that more work falls on the shoulders of federal employees to keep the port in compliance--work that adds up in total costs. 

With both sides now at loggerheads over the issue, the next step will likely come in the form of an official fine against the port from the EPA. Ironically, because the port missed some of the paperwork deadlines by up to four weeks, and the fines are based on a $37,500 per day of violation levy, the EPA could wind up assessing an official fine that is much greater than the negotiated amount. If the port continues to fight the fines, the whole affair could wind up in federal court, though instances of such cases going this far are rare.

Seattle Box Volumes Up in January, Tacoma Hits Three-Year Low

Cargo volumes at the major Puget Sound ports presented a mixed bag during January, with Seattle posting impressive total box numbers compared to the same period last year while nearby Tacoma recorded it's 19th consecutive month of total box volume declines and the lowest single month total box volumes in more than three years.

The Port of Seattle ended January with a total of 154,431 TEUs handled, a 21.9 percent increase over January 2009. Total loaded inbound boxes were reported up 36 percent to 67,418 TEUs while total loaded outbound boxes ended the month up a massive 63 percent at 37,207 TEUs, both compared to the year ago period. January was the sixth straight month of total box volume increases for the port.

The Port of Tacoma reported total box volumes for January of 92,900 TEUs, down 15 percent over January 2009. Tacoma has not reported a total monthly box volume increase since June of 2008 and January was the lowest single month TEU total since prior to January 2007–the oldest records Tacoma posts. In January, Tacoma also handled a total of 33,257 loaded inbound TEUs, a 19.7 percent drop, and a total of 21,411 loaded outbound TEUs, a 4.5 percent decrease over the same period last year.

Europe Contemplates New Research Icebreaker

A consortium composed of fifteen research organizations from ten European countries is continuing to examine the costs of building what would be "the most advanced icebreaker in the world," the multi-purpose Aurora Borealis. The project is being coordinated by the European Polar Board of the European Science Foundation with design input by such firms as Wartsila Ship Design Germany and Aker Arctic Technology of Finland.

According to its supporters, Aurora Borealis will be a unique vessel in that it will function as a heavy icebreaker, a scientific drilling platform and a multi-purpose research ship. The ship, to measure 199.8 meters by 49.0 meters, will have a displacement of approximately 65,000 tons on a maximum draft of 13 meters. Propulsion will be provided by a diesel-electric system using eight diesel generator sets with a maximum output of 94 MW driving three fixed-pitch propellers on shafts and six fully-retractable transverse thrusters. This will give a maximum speed in open water of 15.5 knots, a loaded service speed of 12 knots and the capability to break ice more than 2.5 meters thick at a speed of 2 to 3 knots. Accommodation will be provided for up to 120 scientific personnel and crew in 80 single and 20 double cabins.

The new research ship will have a full-functional capability down to -50¼C and an operational temperature range of between +45¼C and -30 ¼C with a maximum operational endurance of 90 days.

In an installation unique among polar icebreakers, Aurora Borealis will be equipped with a drilling rig that will enable researchers to drill more than 1,000 meters into the sea floor while the ship floats between 100 meters and 5,000 meters above the drilling site. To allow this, the ship will be fitted with a dynamic positioning system capable of operating in ice. Although such a system is considered a novelty at the present it will be mandatory for the vessel's research tasks. The system will allow scientific deep-sea drilling in pack ice without the need of support from other icebreakers.

Extensive model tests in the ice tanks of the Hamburg Ship Model Basin have proven that Aurora Borealis will be able to dynamically position in an ice cover of two or more meters thickness.

Another unique feature of the vessel will be the incorporation of two seven-by-seven-meter moon pools which will enable scientists to deploy their equipment into the ocean without being subject to wind, waves and ice. The ship's aft moon pool will be mainly dedicated to drilling operations while the forward moon pool will be reserved for most other scientific work. This will allow deployment of sensitive and expensive equipment, such as remotely operated or autonomous underwater vehicles, within a closed sea ice cover.

The preparatory phase of the ship's development is to be completed by 2012 when actual construction is expected to begin. This will be followed by sea trials and testing procedures, allowing the new European polar research vessel to become operational in 2014 with an expected lifespan of 35 to 40 years.

The ship's construction is included in the priority list of the European Commission's "European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures" but the vessel's cost, estimated at 355 million Euros when the project was first launched in 2006, has since mushroomed to more than 650 million Euros.

SoCal Port Volumes Mixed In January: Long Beach Up, LA Down

January turned out to be a mixed bag at the Southern California ports, with the Long Beach port reporting across the board container volume growth, while total monthly container volume at the neighboring Los Angeles fell once again into the negative.

Long Beach port officials reported that monthly box volumes handled in January increased by 7.4 percent to 428,805 TEUs compared to the same month in 2009. It was the second straight month of positive growth for Long Beach, after more than a year of negative volume numbers. Total loaded inbound volume increased to 217,925 TEUs, an 8.6 percent increase over January 2009. Total loaded outbound container volume also jumped up compared to the year-ago-period, ending the month up 27.9 percent at 113,183 TEUs.

Across the harbor at the adjacent Los Angeles port, total container volume handled for the month fell to 2.4 percent to 572,969 TEUs, a 2.4 percent decrease over January 2009. Total loaded inbound container volume for January also dipped 6.7 percent, ending the month with 296,305 TEUs handled. On the other hand, total loaded outbound container volume for January jumped a sizable 35.2 percent compared to the same period last year and ending the month with 141,244 TEUs handled.

NorCal Inland Container Barge Project Receives Fed Stimulus Funding

The US Department of Transportation has awarded $30 million to a partnership including the ports in West Sacramento, Oakland and Stockton to launch an inland marine highway service.

The funding, which comes from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s $1.5 billion Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, or TIGER program, will be used to implement a barge service to shuttle containers between the three ports as an alternative to trucks or rail.

The barge service is expected to be up and running by the end of this year.

“Investing in infrastructure is one of the best ways to create and sustain good paying jobs,” said US Congressman Mike Thompson, whose 1st District covers the West Sacramento port.

“Every dollar we invest in infrastructure gives our economy a 59 percent return," said Thompson, adding that the TIGER program will "create both near term construction jobs, long term employment opportunities, and will deliver economic and environmental benefits to our region and state.”

In addition, the Port of West Sacramento will use a portion of the federal funding to construct a crane and other facilities needed for handling container cargo.

The ports of Stockton and West Sacramento, both located more than 75 miles inland from San Francisco Bay and accessible only by a man-made canal, have succeeded as bulk ports focusing mainly on agricultural products grown in California's Central Valley. Over the past decade both have tried to increase their ability to handle more containers as more bulk products have moved to box shipments.

According to the funding request submitted by the three ports, the marine highway project will "reduce greenhouse gas emissions, relieve congestion on Northern California and Central California highways, and help reduce round-trip and overall truck miles traveled between distribution centers and port facilities in the area, with corresponding savings in fuel costs."

DOT officials said that the TIGER program received the Recovery Act funds to "spur a national competition for innovative, multi-modal and multi-jurisdictional transportation projects that promise significant economic and environmental benefits to an entire metropolitan area, a region or the nation."

Bay Area Bar Pilots Christen New Pilot Boat

The newest addition to the San Francisco bar pilot fleet is the 104-foot-long pilot boat Drake.

The vessel was officially christened Wednesday by San Francisco port Director Monique Moyer during a ceremony at the San Francisco waterfront.

Named for famed English mariner Sir Francis Drake, the new vessel will soon join two other pilot boats shuttling local bar pilots to and from ocean-going vessels as they arrive and depart the harbor. The bar pilots, members of the Bar Pilots Association, climb aboard the ocean-going vessels at sea or ride with the vessels to sea – all the while providing local navigation assistance to the vessels' crews during the transits.

The Drake and her two sister pilot boats will rotate holding station about 11 miles outside of Golden Gate, each spending four days and nights on duty. Up to eight pilots at a time live aboard the vessels while at station, riding in with the ocean-going vessels entering San Francisco Bay and returning to the pilot boat aboard vessels departing. The Drake features accommodations for up to eight pilots and four crew members, is powered by two 1,100-horsepower engines and operates a fully equipped galley to service the crew 24 hours a day.

Last year, the Bay Area pilots made 4,500 pilot-to-vessel transfers, according to the Bar Pilot Association.

The California Legislature established the Bay Area bar pilots in 1850 and they are overseen by the quasi-governmental Board of Pilot Commissioners for the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo and Suisun.