Overall Volume Down, Exports Up at Oakland

By Mark Edward Nero

Total containerized cargo volume – imports, exports and empty containers – was down more than 14 percent at the Port of Oakland in March compared to the same month in 2015, according to newly released data. Exports, however, were up significantly during that period.

Oakland port terminals saw a total of 178,947 TEUs in March 2016, a 14.6-percent decline compared to the same month last year.

The port says the decrease is due in part to the fact that Oakland’s March 2015 volumes were unusually high. It was March 2015 when the floodgates opened at West Coast ports following a protracted waterfront contract dispute between the Pacific Maritime Association and International Longshore & Warehouse Union.

The port also said that last month’s volume was limited by a seasonal post-Lunar New Year slowdown in imports from Asia.

But despite the sharp monthly decrease, total volume is up nearly 19 percent so far in 2016, according to port data, and containerized export volume is up 19.9 percent so far over 2015.

The port saw 558,241 TEUs combined during the first three months of 2016, an 18.9-percent jump over the same period last year.

March 2016 exports were up 9.9 percent, the third-straight monthly increase in Oakland.

Port officials attributed the gains to a recent decline in the strength of the dollar. US goods are more affordable overseas when the dollar’s value declines. Export volume declined at the Port of Oakland during most of 2015.

“It’s too soon to declare this a trend, but we’re encouraged by recent signs,” Port of Oakland Maritime Director John Driscoll said of the strong outgoing container figures. “Exports are a critical component of our business.”

BC Ferries Sells Surplus Vessel

By Mark Edward Nero

After a competitive bidding process, BC Ferries has sold the 52 year-old M/V Tenaka to Lady Rose Marine Services of Port Alberni, British Columbia, BC Ferries said April 11.

The 43-meter (141-foot) M/V Tenaka was built in 1964 at Victoria Machinery Depot, and accommodates up to 24 vehicles and 100 passengers and crew. The vessel primarily serviced the Quadra Island – Cortes Island route and last sailed in the fleet in December 2014.

Lady Rose Marine Services is expected to take possession of the vessel in mid-May and after they conduct a drydock and maintenance period, they intend to put the vessel into service by the end of this year, providing passenger and freight service from the Alberni Inlet.

“When retiring vessels from our fleet, our first preference is always to find a buyer who will use the ship for continued commercial operation so we are pleased that the M/V Tenaka will continue to operate right here in British Columbia,” BC Ferries Vice President of Engineering Mark Wilson said.

Lady Rose Marine Services, which has been in business for more than 70 years, provides passenger and freight service from the Alberni Inlet to Bamfield and Ucluelet on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

“With the acquisition of the M/V Tenaka, we will continue to be the biggest tourism operator in Port Alberni employing local staff and supporting local businesses,” Lady Rose Marine Services owner Mike Surrell said.

BC Ferries declined to disclose the price it received for the M/V Tenaka, citing the upcoming sale of two other ferries that are to be retired soon. The company said it needs to “protect the competitive bid processes for those sales and maximize the price received” for the ships.

POLA, LB Execs Join Federal Committee

By Mark Edward Nero

Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka and Port of Long Beach Chief Executive Jon Slangerup have been appointed by US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker to the federal Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness (ASCC).

The ACSCC is tasked with advising the Secretary of Commerce, Department of Transportation and other US agencies on supply chain issues that affect the international competitiveness of US businesses.

Seroka and Slangerup are among 11 new appointees to the committee, and the only two based on the West Coast.

“I’m honored to represent the Port of Los Angeles and our stakeholders as we determine best practices to increase US exports,” Seroka said. “Our work on supply chain optimization over the past year in the San Pedro Bay port complex will add valuable insights to this committee’s efforts.”

Other new members of the ACSCC include: Jaqueline Faseler, Global Supply Chain Sustainability Director for The Dow Chemical Company of Midland, MI; Jonathan Gold, Vice President, Supply Chain and Customs Policy for National Retail Federation in Washington, DC; Walter Kemmsies, Chief Economist for Moffat & Nichol of New York, NY; Houston Mason, Director of Distribution with McCormick and Co. of Hunt Valley, MD; and Elizabeth Ogard, President of Prime Focus in De Pere, WI.

Also joining the committee are: Bethann Rooney, Deputy Director of the Port Commerce Department for The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; Yossi Sheffi, Director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Transportation and Logistics in Cambridge, MA; Prem William, Vice President SCI Solutions and Operations for HAVI Global Solutions in Downers Grove, IL; and Melzana Wilson, Vice President of Compliance for Mallory Alexander International Logistics in Memphis, TN.

The ACSCC, which now has 45 members, provides Obama administration officials with a series of recommendations related to developing US freight policy and plans.

Glosten Names New President

By Mark Edward Nero

Seattle-based consulting naval architecture and marine engineering consultancy Glosten on April 7 announced the appointment of longtime employee John Springer as the company’s president.

Springer, who is Glosten’s fifth president since the firm’s founding in 1958, will have direct responsibility for strategic growth, business direction and client service.

Springer has thus far spent 29 years with the firm. He managed Glosten’s Naval Architecture Group from 1996 to 2003, served as operations director from 2004 to 2009, and most recently served on the executive management team.

“I’m honored to serve Glosten in this new role of shaping the firm’s growth in the coming years,” he said in a prepared statement, “and I am so very fortunate to have the incredible foundation … to build on.”

Springer takes over the role from Glosten’s fourth president, John “Jay” Edgar.

“Leading Glosten has been a rewarding opportunity,” said Edgar, who is now Glosten’s Director of Research and Development. “I’m pleased to support John and the entire Glosten team as we reach new heights in delivering excellence to our clients.”

Glosten, founded in 1958, specializes in naval architecture, ocean engineering & analysis, marine engineering, electrical engineering, and detail/production design.

Last year, Glosten acquired Noise Control Engineering, an acoustical and structural engineering consultancy specializing in noise and vibration measurement and control for marine, industrial, commercial and military applications.

Puget Sound Maritime Achievement Award

The 2016 Puget Sound Maritime Achievement Award Selection Committee is accepting nominations for this year’s award to be announced at the Seattle Propeller Club’s May Maritime Festival breakfast.

Nominations must be received by April 14, 2016 and may be e-mailed to rberkowitz@trans-inst.org. Nominations should include specific achievements of the candidate, particularly those impacting the Puget Sound maritime community, and a brief biography of the nominee. Industry segments represented by past recipients include steamship lines and agents, shipyards, tug and barge operators, marine architects, passenger and fishing vessel operators, port authorities, stevedores, and organized labor. Several paragraphs about the nominee are sufficient.

Feel free to contact Rich Berkowitz at (206) 443-1738 with any questions about the award nomination.

Oakland Port Introduces Trucker Phone Apps

By Mark Edward Nero

On April 5, the Port of Oakland introduced two new smart phone applications that provide a tech-based calculation of harbor trucker turn times. It’s something the port predicts could transform containerized cargo handling at seaports.

The apps, DrayQ and DrayLink, employ Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS technology. They tell drivers how long they’ll wait to enter marine terminal gates and how long their transactions will take.

DrayQ users will be able to log-in to the app to view marine terminal wait times on their phones. DrayLink, will connect harbor truckers with shippers and the companies that dispatch drivers. DrayLink will also provide validated wait-time reports for truckers who register to use the service. It will also verify driver compliance with regulations required for access to terminals.

“We know of no other port measuring trucker transaction times with this precision,” Port of Oakland Executive Director Chris Lytle said. “This takes the myth out of measurement and gives us a window into port performance.”

The port said it commissioned apps to meet demand for accurate measurement of cargo pick-up and delivery times. The port hired Virginia-based scientific and engineering services company Leidos to license, deploy and maintain the apps.

Oakland worked with Leidos to expand a wireless network throughout the port to more closely connect the drayage truck community with marine terminal operators, cargo owners, and other stakeholders.

The port said its new apps can transform container shipping in a number of ways, including that drivers and cargo owners can receive up-to-the minute information on turn times, and can now plan transactions around peak periods of marine terminal activity.

Additionally, ports can get data on how quickly terminals are moving containers for cargo owners. Also, shippers and trucking firms will be able to monitor driver location and progress in real time to improve dispatching.

The smart phone apps are expected to be available via the Apple and Google app stores by the end of April.

Shipper Fined in Hawaii Pollution Case

By Mark Edward Nero

A US District Court judge on April 5 accepted the guilty plea of South Korean maritime operations company Doorae Shipping Co., and sentenced the company to pay a $750,000 fine regarding the discharge of oil contaminated bilge water in the waters around the Hawaiian Islands.

Doorae Shipping was also ordered to make a community service payment of $200,000, and was given a term of two years of probation. The company was charged with the failure to maintain an accurate oil record book, in violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, and making false statements to the US Coast Guard.

Information produced to the court established that instead of running bilge water through an oil water separator, the chief engineer of the Doorae-operated oil tanker B. Sky discharged more than 500 gallons of oily machinery space bilge water directly into the ocean.

The chief engineer of B. Sky, Jeung Mun, pled guilty to one charge of causing the maintenance of a faulty oil record book in violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships. Mun’s sentencing is scheduled for July 27.

The court-approved $200,000 community service payment, per an agreement between the government and Doorae, is to be donated to the National Fish and Wildlife Service Foundation to fund projects that preserve and enhance coral reefs and reef ecosystems in Hawaii.

“The oceans and marine wildlife must be protected from marine companies that look to cut corners by dumping untreated waste,” said Jay M. Green, special agent in charge of the Environmental Protection Agency’s criminal enforcement program in Hawaii.

“The defendants in this case falsified their log books in an attempt to conceal their crimes, but thanks to the thoroughness of Coast Guard and EPA investigators and the persistence of the United States Attorney’s Office, the defendants got caught,” Green said.