As expected, the Port of Long Beach has officially confirmed Chris Lytle as its new executive director. The port’s Board of Harbor Commissioners voted 4-0 on Nov. 14 to appoint Lytle to the position.
He replaces Dick Steinke, who announced his retirement in April after having been executive director since 1997.
“I’m excited about the opportunity to move things forward,” Lytle said after being confirmed. “I think we have the opportunity now to take a little bit different look, a fresh look at a couple things. Not that we’re going to do anything drastically different than what Dick has established.”
Lytle, who’s held the position of deputy executive director since 2008, joined the port as a managing director in 2006. He holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Puget Sound and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Central Washington University.
He’s a former vice president with the French shipping line CMA CGM and also previously held executive-level positions with P&O Ports North America, Sea-Land Service Inc. and APM Terminals.
Harbor Commission President Susan E. Anderson Wise said that Lytle was chosen after an extensive, nationwide search and that his experience in both the public and private sectors is what made him the ideal choice.
Steinke, who originally planned to retire in September, has agreed to stay on until the end of the year.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Winged Sculpture Under Consideration for San Diego Waterfront
The Port of San Diego is weighing a proposal to build a 500-foot sculpture that resembles a pair of wings on the waterfront. The sculpture would be part of a $68 million pier development project proposed by the USS Midway Museum.
The design for the “Wings of Freedom” sculpture, which also bears a resemblance to two sails full of wind, has so far received a $35 million pledge from local entrepreneur and philanthropist Denny Sandford.
Proponents say the structure would be on par with other iconic sculptures around the world, such as Seattle’s Space Needle, the Statue of Liberty in New York City and St. Louis Arch. Local critics, however, have already called the design “hideous” and “ridiculous,” among other things.
Town hall discussions on the proposal are scheduled for Nov. 29, Dec. 6 and Dec. 10 at the port. A report on the public’s input is scheduled to be presented to port commissioners on Dec. 13.
The design for the “Wings of Freedom” sculpture, which also bears a resemblance to two sails full of wind, has so far received a $35 million pledge from local entrepreneur and philanthropist Denny Sandford.
Proponents say the structure would be on par with other iconic sculptures around the world, such as Seattle’s Space Needle, the Statue of Liberty in New York City and St. Louis Arch. Local critics, however, have already called the design “hideous” and “ridiculous,” among other things.
Town hall discussions on the proposal are scheduled for Nov. 29, Dec. 6 and Dec. 10 at the port. A report on the public’s input is scheduled to be presented to port commissioners on Dec. 13.
POLB Dedicates Shore Power Project
The shipping container facility operated by SSA Terminals and Matson Navigation at the Port of Long Beach’s Pier C has become the fourth terminal at the port to be equipped with shore power.
The infrastructure project, which cost an estimated $6.4 million, allows ships at berth to shut down their diesel engines and plug into electricity in order to reduce air pollution.
During a Nov. 15 dedication ceremony at the terminal, state and local leaders, including Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster, state Sen. Alan Lowenthal and his former wife, Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal joined port staff in marking the event.
“Together with our industry partners, we have shown the world that it is possible to move more cargo and reduce emissions at the same time,” harbor commission President Susan Wise said during the dedication ceremony.
Matson and the port committed to the project in 2006 as part of a new lease outlining major environmental improvements at Pier C. In the time since, the California Air Resources Board has made shore power a state requirement, and under current state regulations, half of all containership visits must use shore power by 2014.
The infrastructure project, which cost an estimated $6.4 million, allows ships at berth to shut down their diesel engines and plug into electricity in order to reduce air pollution.
During a Nov. 15 dedication ceremony at the terminal, state and local leaders, including Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster, state Sen. Alan Lowenthal and his former wife, Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal joined port staff in marking the event.
“Together with our industry partners, we have shown the world that it is possible to move more cargo and reduce emissions at the same time,” harbor commission President Susan Wise said during the dedication ceremony.
Matson and the port committed to the project in 2006 as part of a new lease outlining major environmental improvements at Pier C. In the time since, the California Air Resources Board has made shore power a state requirement, and under current state regulations, half of all containership visits must use shore power by 2014.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Coast Guard Recommends Lane Reductions
The US Coast Guard is recommending narrowing shipping lanes used by the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex in order to steer vessels away from areas used by endangered whales.
The recommendation is the result of a yearlong study released Nov. 1 regarding access routes for cargo ships in the Santa Barbara Channel using the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports.
The Coast Guard study declares that unbounded vessel traffic in the waters south of the Channel Islands is a safety concern and that due to vessel traffic increases, the risk of collision needed to be addressed.
The Coast Guard proposes narrowing the distance between the shipping lanes by moving the southern inbound lane one nautical mile toward the northern lane and leaving a one nautical mile separation between the lanes.
Shifting the southern lane a nautical mile to the north would move vessel traffic away from the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and an underwater area near the Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa islands populated by endangered blue, fin and humpback whales.
About 50 whales have been struck by ships off the California coast in the last 10 years, according to Coast Guard data, four in 2007 alone.
The Coast Guard proposal also calls for establishing new shipping lanes south of the Channel Islands, where some freighters have been navigating to avoid California air pollution regulations.
The report’s recommendations would have to undergo a federal rulemaking process and review by the International Maritime Organization before they could be implemented.
The recommendation is the result of a yearlong study released Nov. 1 regarding access routes for cargo ships in the Santa Barbara Channel using the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports.
The Coast Guard study declares that unbounded vessel traffic in the waters south of the Channel Islands is a safety concern and that due to vessel traffic increases, the risk of collision needed to be addressed.
The Coast Guard proposes narrowing the distance between the shipping lanes by moving the southern inbound lane one nautical mile toward the northern lane and leaving a one nautical mile separation between the lanes.
Shifting the southern lane a nautical mile to the north would move vessel traffic away from the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and an underwater area near the Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa islands populated by endangered blue, fin and humpback whales.
About 50 whales have been struck by ships off the California coast in the last 10 years, according to Coast Guard data, four in 2007 alone.
The Coast Guard proposal also calls for establishing new shipping lanes south of the Channel Islands, where some freighters have been navigating to avoid California air pollution regulations.
The report’s recommendations would have to undergo a federal rulemaking process and review by the International Maritime Organization before they could be implemented.
LA/LB Dropping Clean Truck Fees
The ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles say they are discontinuing their respective $35/TEU clean truck fees beginning Jan. 1, 2012. The fees, which had been in place since 2009, are currently charged to drayage trucks that were built in 2006 or earlier and haven’t been retrofitted.
But as of the start of the New Year, trucks that don’t meet 2007 Federal Clean Truck Emissions Standards are banned from operating at both ports, thereby making the fee unnecessary.
As of 2011, 2006 model year engine and older trucks are only performing about two percent of total drayage moves, according to the ports.
Under the two ports’ clean trucks programs, late model rigs have been progressively banned from port service. When fully implemented in 2012, the ports say they expect truck emissions to be reduced by more than 80 percent from pre-program levels.
The PortCheck system, which administers the fees, is expected to remain open during January 2012 to refund Clean Truck Fees that were deposited in accounts but haven’t been spent. The ports are advising customers to request any refunds that may be due no later than Jan. 15, 2012, or else the funds could be forfeited as unclaimed deposits.
But as of the start of the New Year, trucks that don’t meet 2007 Federal Clean Truck Emissions Standards are banned from operating at both ports, thereby making the fee unnecessary.
As of 2011, 2006 model year engine and older trucks are only performing about two percent of total drayage moves, according to the ports.
Under the two ports’ clean trucks programs, late model rigs have been progressively banned from port service. When fully implemented in 2012, the ports say they expect truck emissions to be reduced by more than 80 percent from pre-program levels.
The PortCheck system, which administers the fees, is expected to remain open during January 2012 to refund Clean Truck Fees that were deposited in accounts but haven’t been spent. The ports are advising customers to request any refunds that may be due no later than Jan. 15, 2012, or else the funds could be forfeited as unclaimed deposits.
Port of Vancouver USA Budget Approved
The Port of Vancouver USA has approved a 2012 budget that includes a one percent property tax increase to help pay for an ongoing freight rail project.
Under the new budget, which was approved on a 2-1 vote Nov. 8, the port’s property tax collection would rise by about $99,000 in 2012 to roughly $10 million.
Starting next year, the owner of a property with an assessed value of $250,000 would pay about $2 more in property taxes than in 2011. There are about 300,000 property taxpayers within the port’s 111-square-mile district.
The additional money would go toward construction of the $150 million West Vancouver Freight Access project, a 27-mile rail expansion that the port hopes to finish by 2017. The rail project, on which construction began in 2007, is designed to improve the ability to move freight through the port and regional BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad mainlines.
Port commissioners Nancy Baker and Brian Wolfe voted in favor of the budget, while commissioner Jerry Oliver voted against it, saying that the economic climate wasn’t right to impose a new tax.
Under the new budget, which was approved on a 2-1 vote Nov. 8, the port’s property tax collection would rise by about $99,000 in 2012 to roughly $10 million.
Starting next year, the owner of a property with an assessed value of $250,000 would pay about $2 more in property taxes than in 2011. There are about 300,000 property taxpayers within the port’s 111-square-mile district.
The additional money would go toward construction of the $150 million West Vancouver Freight Access project, a 27-mile rail expansion that the port hopes to finish by 2017. The rail project, on which construction began in 2007, is designed to improve the ability to move freight through the port and regional BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad mainlines.
Port commissioners Nancy Baker and Brian Wolfe voted in favor of the budget, while commissioner Jerry Oliver voted against it, saying that the economic climate wasn’t right to impose a new tax.
Rail Traffic to Dip
Retail container traffic on the West Coast and at all major US ports is expected to collectively dip this month compared with the same period last year, according to the National Retail Federation.
The NRF’s monthly Global Port Tracker report, which was released Nov. 9, projects that import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to fall about two percent this month compared with November 2010. This month is forecast at 1.21 million TEU, down 1.9 percent from last November.
Additionally, traffic is also expected to drop in each of the next three months. In December, traffic’s expected to fall to 1.11 million, a decline of 3.3 percent from December 2010. The January 2012 forecast calls for 1.1 million TEU, an 8.7 percent drop from January 2011; and 996,800 TEU next February, down 9.4 percent.
Jonathan Gold, the NRF’s vice president for supply chain and customs policy, said that retailers are being very strategic with their supply chains this time of year and keeping inventory levels extremely lean.
The Global Port Tracker report covers the ports of Long Angeles-Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma on the West Coast; New York-New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston and Savannah on the East Coast; and Houston on the Gulf Coast.
The NRF’s monthly Global Port Tracker report, which was released Nov. 9, projects that import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to fall about two percent this month compared with November 2010. This month is forecast at 1.21 million TEU, down 1.9 percent from last November.
Additionally, traffic is also expected to drop in each of the next three months. In December, traffic’s expected to fall to 1.11 million, a decline of 3.3 percent from December 2010. The January 2012 forecast calls for 1.1 million TEU, an 8.7 percent drop from January 2011; and 996,800 TEU next February, down 9.4 percent.
Jonathan Gold, the NRF’s vice president for supply chain and customs policy, said that retailers are being very strategic with their supply chains this time of year and keeping inventory levels extremely lean.
The Global Port Tracker report covers the ports of Long Angeles-Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma on the West Coast; New York-New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston and Savannah on the East Coast; and Houston on the Gulf Coast.
