Prince Rupert Opens Community Investment Funds

By Mark Edward Nero

The Port of Prince Rupert announced Jan. 13 that the application period is now open for its 2016 Community Investment Fund. Under the fund, the port earmarks a portion of its annual income to provide financial support for projects or initiatives in the Prince Rupert region that enhance quality of life or contribute to a lasting community legacy.

In combination with funding from other businesses, community groups and government agencies, the Community Investment Fund enables millions of dollars in local improvement projects.

“The ability to partner with local organizations and provide new services and equipment that benefits thousands of people every year is something we cherish as an organization,” Port of Prince Rupert Community Relations Manager Maynard Angus said. “We look forward to growing our list of partners even further in 2016.”

Since its inception in 2009, the Community Investment Fund has enabled more than 30 projects worth more than $4 million in capital costs, with the port’s contributions to these projects exceeding $2.5 million. Among the projects the port has helped fund are a new dedicated search and rescue vessel for Royal Canada Marine Search and Rescue, Station 64 Prince Rupert and a new stage floor, plus roof repairs, for the Lester Centre for the Arts.

In 2015 alone, the port says, it contributed over $680,000 to community-driven initiatives.

In order for projects to be considered for funding, they must meet a list of prescribed criteria, including demonstrating a meaningful and wide-reaching impact for broad portion of the community they are located. For detailed information about project requirements, submission guidelines and more information on past beneficiaries of the Community Investment Fund, visit www.rupertport.com/community/investment.

Carnival Cruise Lines Wins Readers’ Choice Awards

By Mark Edward Nero

Carnival Cruise Line has taken top honors in two categories in USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards, earning accolades for “Best Cruise Line” and “Best Cruise Ship For Dining” (Carnival Breeze).

The awards were based on nominations from a team of cruise industry experts and the winners were determined by an online vote by USA Today readers.

Carnival earned “Best Cruise Line” honors for its vacation experience, which offers a variety of onboard features and facilities, including the “Seuss at Sea” program in partnership with Dr. Seuss Enterprises, spas, and comedy shows at the Punchliner Comedy Club.

Carnival Breeze was named “Best Cruise Ship For Dining” based on a wide range of culinary options, including sushi, a steakhouse, a family-style Italian restaurant, and hand-crafted burgers and fries at Guy’s Burger Joint developed in tandem with Food Network star Guy Fieri.

“Receiving this recognition is a wonderful validation of all the hard work our shipboard and shoreside teams put into providing our guests with fun, memorable vacations,” said Carnival Cruises President Christine Duffy. “We would also like to thank our travel agent partners for their support in sharing the myriad benefits and exceptional value of cruise vacations with their clients,” she added.

POLB: Annual TEUs Up 5 Percent

By Mark Edward Nero

Propelled by six consecutive months of rising cargo volumes in the final two quarters of 2015, the Port of Long Beach says it recovered from systemic congestion and cargo diversion in the first quarter to deliver one of its strongest results on record last year.

For only the third time in its 105-year history, Long Beach topped seven million TEUs during the year, according to newly-released data.

Cargo volume climbed 5.4 percent in 2015 compared to 2014, as the Southern California seaport and its industry partners transformed the challenges of congestion at the start of last year into a scene of free-flowing cargo and record setting months.

In December, the port achieved 5.1 percent overall growth, compared to December 2014. Imports increased seven percent to 296,002 TEUs, while exports fell 4.1 percent to 126,118 TEUs. The number of empty containers moved rose 9.5 percent to 174,328 units during the month.

For calendar year 2015, a total of 7,192,066 TEUs moved through the harbor. Imports rose 3.1 percent to 3,625,263 TEUs, while exports dropped 4.9 percent to 1,525,560. Empty containers rose 20.2 percent to 2,041,243 TEUs.

Playing a big part in the growth were record cargo volumes achieved at Long Beach during July and August, resulting in the port’s biggest quarter in its history: more than two million TEUs moved through the port in the third quarter.

“We’re gratified to see the business growth – we worked diligently over these past 12 months to recover from a very challenging start to the year, resulting in record volume and productivity gains and the strong and steady return of diverted cargo,” Port of Long Beach CEO Jon Slangerup said. “We credit terminal operators, labor, shipping lines, cargo owners and our local community with pulling together to turn things around.”

Slangerup is expected to present more information about the port’s 2015 accomplishments and plans for 2016 during the annual State of the Port address, scheduled for Thurs., Jan. 21.

More information about the event can be found at www.polb.com/StateOfThePort. More details on the cargo numbers is available at www.polb.com/stats.

Study: Port Development Could Mean 5,000 Jobs

By Mark Edward Nero

On Jan. 11, the Port of Prince Rupert released a study projecting that when fully realized, its development plan could generate almost 5,000 new jobs in northern British Columbia directly related to port activity.

Using a model derived from project proposals and land use plans, the forecast quantifies the potential growth of the port’s economic impact through 2025 and beyond. The model makes assumptions for capital investments, average employment levels and wages.

The full buildout of the Port of Prince Rupert’s planned infrastructure and terminals is predicted potentially to generate incremental economic impacts, including:

• An increase of 4,780 full-time equivalent jobs directly related to port activity.
• $310 million annually in additional wages.
• $59 million annually in additional local municipal taxes for the City of Prince Rupert and the District of Port Edward.
• $400 million annually in additional Gross Domestic Product for Canada.

In addition to the economic benefits of planned infrastructure and terminals, construction could provide as many as 26,000 person-years of employment, $1.7 billion in wages and more than $2 billion in GDP, according to the study.

The Port of Prince Rupert’s development plan promotes the port’s growth into a diversified and sustainable global trade gateway in a manner that would minimize operations congestion, limit community conflict with industrial land use, and mitigate marine and environmental impacts.

Current and proposed developments on port lands at Fairview Container Terminal, the Ridley Island Industrial Site and Lelu Island have the potential to create an integrated platform for shipping with the capacity to transport over 100 million tons of cargo annually, according to the port.

“The vision of Prince Rupert as a leading North American trade gateway builds on our strengths and our track record,” said Don Krusel, President & CEO of the Port of Prince Rupert. “The question is, can we achieve it? We believe we can.”

Canadian Provinces Ink Maritime Training Deal

By Mark Edward Nero

On Jan. 13, the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Nova Scotia signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at strengthening workforce cooperation, including innovation and training in the shipbuilding and industrial marine industries.

The two provinces said in an announcement that the agreement positions them to work together “to innovate trades training in the shipbuilding and industrial marine industries, improving outcomes for apprentices and the sector overall.”

Under the deal, British Columbia and Nova Scotia are expected to share labor market information such as workforce demand projections, initiatives to support sector-based workforce planning and best practices in labor market data analysis.

“Shipbuilding and marine industries are important to the economies of both our coastal provinces,” British Columbia Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training Shirley Bond said in a statement announcing the agreement. “We will continue to work with government and industry partners to align and improve apprenticeship training across Canada.”

“We share a strong shipbuilding industry,” added Karen Casey, Nova Scotia’s acting Minister of Labor and Advanced Education. “We need to take advantage of this and work together to help grow our two provinces’ economies. This partnership helps our businesses to build their export capacity and take full advantage of spin-off opportunities coming out of the industry.”

Key commitments identified in the MOU include: sharing and leveraging best practices in trades training, including the evaluation of training models in the shipbuilding and industrial marine industries; and assessing and evaluating the training delivery models for marine sector trades training and jointly develop and implement identified new models as appropriate in the shipbuilding and industrial marine industries.

The agreement also calls for promoting youth participation in trades training in the shipbuilding and industrial marine industries.

POLA Annual TEUs Fall Slightly

By Mark Edward Nero

The Port of Los Angeles moved a total of 8,160,457 TEUs in calendar year 2015, a decrease of 2.1 percent from the 8.34 million TEUs the port saw in 2014, but up from the 7.9 million TEUs shipped in 2013.

“I’m pleased that the Port of Los Angeles has surpassed the 8-million TEU threshold for the fifth time in our history,” Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said in a prepared statement. “Despite the soft start to the year, our terminals, labor force and supply chain stakeholders rebounded strongly. With bigger ships and the ongoing work to increase supply chain efficiencies, we look forward to building on this momentum in 2016.”

In December, total cargo volumes were 626,276 TEUs, a decrease of 4.9 percent compared to the same period last year. December 2015 imports dropped 4.5 percent to 321,407 TEUs compared to the previous year. Exports fell 13.7 percent to 131,239 TEUs in December. A cargo terminal was offline for several weeks in December in order to install new software, which was the primary reason for the drop in December cargo.

For the fiscal year, which began July 1, cargo volumes are down about 0.7 percent, according to port data. Port terminals moved 4.25 million TEUs, compared to 4.28 million during the previous six-month period.

Current and past data container counts for the Port of Los Angeles may be found at: http://www.portoflosangeles.org/maritime/stats.asp

Port of Port Townsend Head Retiring

By Mark Edward Nero

Larry Crockett, who’s been the executive director of the Port of Port Townsend in Jefferson County, Wash. for nearly 17 years, has announced his retirement from the port, effective June 1.

“The time is right for me to step away,” he said in a Jan. 13 statement. “We have a stable commission in place, current port projects are well in hand, and we have sufficient time before the next budget cycle begins. This is a window of opportunity that I hope will allow the port to move forward with minimal impact. I’ll be 69 this summer, and I have some other adventures I want to try while I am still in good health.”

Commission President Peter Hanke noted that Crockett’s tenure was highly successful. “When Larry was hired in 1999, the port couldn’t pay its bills, and had to secure a line of credit just to meet cashflow,” Hanke said. “He and his staff have done an outstanding job of placing the Port on sound financial footing, which enables more than 400 marine trades jobs to flourish in an environment where other ports are struggling.”

The port’s executive director is responsible for all operations and lease negotiations with over 175 tenants and businesses, and leads a staff of 26 people that oversees operations of three marinas, boat yards, industrial parks and the Jefferson County International Airport.

Hanke said that the port commission will begin immediate discussions on a process to replace Crockett, who’s been the executive director of the port since April 1999.

Prior to that, Crockett served 30 years in the United States Army, retiring in February 1999 as a Colonel.

“The thing I miss most about the military was the fact that in 30 years of service, I felt that I was part of something larger than myself,” Crockett said. “I never thought I would get that feeling again after retiring. But I found that again at the Port of Port Townsend.”