Contractors with the Washington State Department of Transportation on Wednesday began demolishing a 120,000-square-foot warehouse at Pier 48 near the Port of Seattle.
The $460,000 demolition project is expected to take about four months and WSDOT plans to use the 6.5 acre site to stage equipment and materials during construction work on the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement project.
WSDOT reports that the warehouse is located on about 4 acres of pier that sit atop severely damaged wood pilings. The warehouse itself has also been described as unsafe and requiring prohibitive maintenance and repair costs. WSDOT purchased the site from the Port of Seattle in 2008 in anticipation of the viaduct replacement project now wending its way through political and legal channels. The site abuts the Port of Seattle's Pier 46 container terminal on the north which will not be affected by viaduct replacement work, according to WSDOT and other familiar with the project.
The WSDOT demolition plans call for contractor R.W. Rhine, Inc. of Tacoma to recycle roughly 50 percent of the warehouse material, including metal siding, roofing material and wood.
The WSDOT contractor working on the southern mile of the Viaduct project between South Holgate Street and South King Street will be the first to utilize the site, staging equipment and materials on the 2.5 acre upland area that does not sit on pilings.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Los Angeles Port Commission to be Short-Handed for Near Future
At least for the time being, the Port of Los Angeles will be functioning with four port commissioners instead of five after Port of Los Angeles Harbor Commission Vice President Jerilyn López Mendoza officially stepped down from her post on Wednesday.
López Mendoza, who has served on the port governing board since being appointed by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in 2005, announced her plans to step down in late June.
While her official six-year term ran through 2011, López Mendoza said she left early to take a position as the California Regional Manager for ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability. She is also currently the interim director at the California League of Conservation Voters Education Fund.
During her tenure on the port commission, López Mendoza has been a key voice in the development of port environmental policies such as the Clean Air Action Plan and the Clean Trucks Program.
Port Executive Director Geraldine Knatz said Wednesday that López Mendoza "has had an enormous impact at the Port of Los Angeles."
Prior to joining the port commission, López Mendoza was the policy director of the Environmental Justice Project Office of Environmental Defense Fund in Los Angeles for nine years. Previously, she was the chair of the Steering Committee of the Los Angeles International Airport Coalition for Economic, Environmental and Educational Justice.
Port and city officials have not publicly detailed any immediate plans to fill the vacant commission seat. Commission appointments can take up to several months while City Hall vets candidates and the Los Angeles City Council completes the appointment process.
López Mendoza, who has served on the port governing board since being appointed by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in 2005, announced her plans to step down in late June.
While her official six-year term ran through 2011, López Mendoza said she left early to take a position as the California Regional Manager for ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability. She is also currently the interim director at the California League of Conservation Voters Education Fund.
During her tenure on the port commission, López Mendoza has been a key voice in the development of port environmental policies such as the Clean Air Action Plan and the Clean Trucks Program.
Port Executive Director Geraldine Knatz said Wednesday that López Mendoza "has had an enormous impact at the Port of Los Angeles."
Prior to joining the port commission, López Mendoza was the policy director of the Environmental Justice Project Office of Environmental Defense Fund in Los Angeles for nine years. Previously, she was the chair of the Steering Committee of the Los Angeles International Airport Coalition for Economic, Environmental and Educational Justice.
Port and city officials have not publicly detailed any immediate plans to fill the vacant commission seat. Commission appointments can take up to several months while City Hall vets candidates and the Los Angeles City Council completes the appointment process.
Five Years Later, Los Angeles Port Restarts Main Channel Dredging Project
After a five-year hiatus, the Port of Los Angeles last week announced that work has resumed on the final phase of a main channel dredging project to allow larger vessels to call at the port.
Set for completion in 2013--just prior to the 2014 opening of an expanded Panama Canal that is expected to offer increased competition to West Coast ports--the dredging project is also tied to the ongoing $350 million expansion of the port's China Shipping and TraPac terminals. Other terminals at the port, including Evergreen, Yang Ming, and Yusen/NYK, will also benefit from the deepened main channel.
“The Main Channel Deepening Project is a lifeline to maintaining our competitive edge during the critical years ahead as we face increased competition on a number of fronts,” said Port Executive Director Geraldine Knatz.
The $370 million dredging project began more than a decade ago but was halted in 2005 as port officials searched for and analyzed adequate disposal sites for sediment to be dredged up during the project.
Port officials ultimately identified a disposal location at two unused slips along the main channel that were formerly home to a ship repair facility.
Long Beach-based shipyard operator Gambol Industries has been trying to convince the port for over a year that the shuttered facility would be better utilized as a new ship repair facility. The governing board of the port is set to take up the issue again on Aug. 19.
Set for completion in 2013--just prior to the 2014 opening of an expanded Panama Canal that is expected to offer increased competition to West Coast ports--the dredging project is also tied to the ongoing $350 million expansion of the port's China Shipping and TraPac terminals. Other terminals at the port, including Evergreen, Yang Ming, and Yusen/NYK, will also benefit from the deepened main channel.
“The Main Channel Deepening Project is a lifeline to maintaining our competitive edge during the critical years ahead as we face increased competition on a number of fronts,” said Port Executive Director Geraldine Knatz.
The $370 million dredging project began more than a decade ago but was halted in 2005 as port officials searched for and analyzed adequate disposal sites for sediment to be dredged up during the project.
Port officials ultimately identified a disposal location at two unused slips along the main channel that were formerly home to a ship repair facility.
Long Beach-based shipyard operator Gambol Industries has been trying to convince the port for over a year that the shuttered facility would be better utilized as a new ship repair facility. The governing board of the port is set to take up the issue again on Aug. 19.
Shipyard Project Decision Postponed by Los Angeles Port
After more than four hours of debate on Wednesday, the governing board for the Port of Los Angeles decided to delay a decision on whether to extend an exclusive negotiating agreement with a firm seeking to build a $50 million shipyard at the port.
The port commission will take up the issue again on Aug. 19.
Officials from Long Beach-based shipyard operator Gambol Industries have spent more than a year trying to convince port officials that a shipyard utilizing a shuttered ship repair facility at the port would be viable. The port wants to fill in areas around the shuttered facility with sediments from an impending $96 million Army Corps of Engineers project to dredge the port's main channel.
After an appeal to Los Angeles City Hall by Gambol last year, the port commission and the Los Angeles City Council approved the dredging project with a provision that required the port to inspect Gambol's business plan before moving forward with the sediment dumping at the shuttered facility. The port eventually signed a negotiating agreement with Gambol, but the agreement is set to expire.
For its part, Gambol claims to have come up with a way to provide enough of the shuttered facility for the dredging sediment while still retaining enough waterfront area to operate as a shipyard. The port on the other hand is concerned that any delay in the dredging project, either due to negotiations or a change in the plans, could hamper the development of the China Shipping and TraPac terminals now under way.
The port commission will take up the issue again on Aug. 19.
Officials from Long Beach-based shipyard operator Gambol Industries have spent more than a year trying to convince port officials that a shipyard utilizing a shuttered ship repair facility at the port would be viable. The port wants to fill in areas around the shuttered facility with sediments from an impending $96 million Army Corps of Engineers project to dredge the port's main channel.
After an appeal to Los Angeles City Hall by Gambol last year, the port commission and the Los Angeles City Council approved the dredging project with a provision that required the port to inspect Gambol's business plan before moving forward with the sediment dumping at the shuttered facility. The port eventually signed a negotiating agreement with Gambol, but the agreement is set to expire.
For its part, Gambol claims to have come up with a way to provide enough of the shuttered facility for the dredging sediment while still retaining enough waterfront area to operate as a shipyard. The port on the other hand is concerned that any delay in the dredging project, either due to negotiations or a change in the plans, could hamper the development of the China Shipping and TraPac terminals now under way.
Senate Bill Seeks to Kill 2012 100% Container-Scan Deadline
A Senate bill introduced Tuesday seeks to eliminate a 2012 deadline for 100 percent scanning of all United States-bound oceanborne cargo containers.
The bill, named the SAFE Port Reauthorization Act of 2010, seeks to replace the 100 percent scanning requirement enacted in 2007 with a "more reasonable" risk assessment method until container scanning technology is more developed.
The bill would require that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security designate such a risk assessment method as effective.
DHS now utilizes a threat matrix risk assessment method to evaluate containers arriving at most U.S. ports.
The 2007 law which set the 2012 deadline called for all U.S.-bound cargo containers to be x-rayed and scanned for radioactive contents.
Some ports, such as those in Long Beach and Los Angeles, do scan all containers leaving marine facilities with radiation portal monitors but x-ray scanning technology has yet to develop to the point that it can keep up with the volume of containers moving through a modern port.
The 100 percent scanning requirement has been blasted by many facets of the shipping industry as both too costly and technically infeasible with current technology.
The bill, named the SAFE Port Reauthorization Act of 2010, seeks to replace the 100 percent scanning requirement enacted in 2007 with a "more reasonable" risk assessment method until container scanning technology is more developed.
The bill would require that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security designate such a risk assessment method as effective.
DHS now utilizes a threat matrix risk assessment method to evaluate containers arriving at most U.S. ports.
The 2007 law which set the 2012 deadline called for all U.S.-bound cargo containers to be x-rayed and scanned for radioactive contents.
Some ports, such as those in Long Beach and Los Angeles, do scan all containers leaving marine facilities with radiation portal monitors but x-ray scanning technology has yet to develop to the point that it can keep up with the volume of containers moving through a modern port.
The 100 percent scanning requirement has been blasted by many facets of the shipping industry as both too costly and technically infeasible with current technology.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
San Diego Port Approves Mitigation Fund, Hires New Ops Director
Commissioners for the Port of San Diego have formally approved the creation of a fund to help mitigate truck traffic and other community disruptions caused by port operations at the port's Tenth Avenue and National City marine terminals.
The coffers of the Marine Terminal Impact Improvement Fund will be filled with the collection of one half of 1 percent of the two terminals' gross revenues. Port officials will add the estimated $113,000 a year in terminal revenues to a one-time $500,000 contribution to the fund from the port's capital development budget.
The fund is expected to be used for the construction of infrastructure projects to help mitigate port-generated truck traffic on residential streets around the two terminals and other community projects.
In other Port of San Diego news, port officials have named Joel Valenzuela as the port's new director of maritime operations.
In his new role, Valenzuela – who has been serving as the departmental manager of maritime industry and trade relations at the port – will direct the operations, maintenance and development of the port's maritime facilities and infrastructure, including the port's cargo and cruise terminals, public piers, wharves and docks.
In addition, he will also be responsible for ensuring maritime facilities' compliance with all applicable federal, state and local regulations, administering the port Tariff, as well as enforcing maritime lease agreements and contracts.
"His experience with terminal management and international trade will help us rebuild our cargo numbers and increase revenue. Not only that, Joel has extensive employee and customer relations experience, which will enable him to effectively lead the Maritime Operations Department," said president and CEO of the port Charles Wurster.
In addition to managing San Diego's main cruise terminal, and various real estate investments along the San Diego waterfront, the Port of San Diego operates the Tenth Street and National City marine terminals.
The Tenth Street terminal is a 96 acres multi-purpose eight-berth facility that handles refrigerated commodities, fertilizer, cement, breakbulk commodities, and forest products. The terminal features a 300,000-square-foot cold storage facility warehousing for storing and handling fresh produce and other perishables.
The National City Marine Terminal is a 125-acre, seven-berth facility operated by Pasha services, which processes over 500,000 vehicles a year. The National City Marine Terminal serves as one of the the primary United States port's of entry for car manufacturers Honda, Acura, Isuzu, Volkswagen, Nissan, Mitsubishi Fuso, and Hino Motors.
The coffers of the Marine Terminal Impact Improvement Fund will be filled with the collection of one half of 1 percent of the two terminals' gross revenues. Port officials will add the estimated $113,000 a year in terminal revenues to a one-time $500,000 contribution to the fund from the port's capital development budget.
The fund is expected to be used for the construction of infrastructure projects to help mitigate port-generated truck traffic on residential streets around the two terminals and other community projects.
In other Port of San Diego news, port officials have named Joel Valenzuela as the port's new director of maritime operations.
In his new role, Valenzuela – who has been serving as the departmental manager of maritime industry and trade relations at the port – will direct the operations, maintenance and development of the port's maritime facilities and infrastructure, including the port's cargo and cruise terminals, public piers, wharves and docks.
In addition, he will also be responsible for ensuring maritime facilities' compliance with all applicable federal, state and local regulations, administering the port Tariff, as well as enforcing maritime lease agreements and contracts.
"His experience with terminal management and international trade will help us rebuild our cargo numbers and increase revenue. Not only that, Joel has extensive employee and customer relations experience, which will enable him to effectively lead the Maritime Operations Department," said president and CEO of the port Charles Wurster.
In addition to managing San Diego's main cruise terminal, and various real estate investments along the San Diego waterfront, the Port of San Diego operates the Tenth Street and National City marine terminals.
The Tenth Street terminal is a 96 acres multi-purpose eight-berth facility that handles refrigerated commodities, fertilizer, cement, breakbulk commodities, and forest products. The terminal features a 300,000-square-foot cold storage facility warehousing for storing and handling fresh produce and other perishables.
The National City Marine Terminal is a 125-acre, seven-berth facility operated by Pasha services, which processes over 500,000 vehicles a year. The National City Marine Terminal serves as one of the the primary United States port's of entry for car manufacturers Honda, Acura, Isuzu, Volkswagen, Nissan, Mitsubishi Fuso, and Hino Motors.
Oakland, Los Angeles Ports Receive $10M In Fed Grants for Ship-to-Shore Power
Two of California's major container ports have received just under $10 million in environmental grants from the federal government to further develop ship-to-shore power systems.
The Port of Los Angeles was awarded $1.2 million from the United States Environmental Protection Agency to install portable dock-based power systems to provide maintenance power to vessels at berth.
The port, which has been using a different ship-to-shore system for several years at several terminals, will use the $3.6 million liquefied natural gas generator system to provide temporary shore-based electrical power to five American President Lines vessels while the port continues development of a permanent ship-to-shore installation at the APL terminal.
Studies have found that nearly half of the diesel emissions generated during a vessel call are generated by the running of a vessel's auxiliary engines to provide maintenance power while at berth.
Providing electrical power from land-based power systems, including dockside alternative fuel generators and direct connections to the landside power grid, are claimed to significantly reduce overall diesel emissions in port areas.
The port plans to complete the full ship-to-shore installation at the APL terminal within 18 months and then expand it to other terminals. The neighboring Port of Long Beach also has a major ship-to-shore electrification program under development.
Officials from the US Maritime Administration, or MARAD, also announced the approval of an $8.5 million grant to the Port of Oakland for completion of design work for a ship-to-shore power project at the port. Contractor Moffatt & Nichol had been designing the port's ship-to-shore infrastructure, but work was halted late last year after the port failed to receive several federal grants to help pay for the project. The port will use $7.85 million of the new MARAD grant and funds remaining from the 2009 contract to continue the design work on the ship-to-shore system.
In other grant news, the Port of Los Angeles also received just over $730,000 from the US EPA to purchase and evaluate a hybrid-powered rubber-tired gantry crane. Instead of being powered by a conventional diesel-engine power system, the EcoCrane RTG is powered by a drastically smaller and cleaner-burning diesel engine that charges on-board batteries. The batteries in turn power an electric motor system to provide lift and drive power for the crane. The hybrid RTG, manufactured by EcoPower Hybrid Systems, is on the EPA's emerging technologies list and is claimed to produce 85 percent less diesel particulate matter and 70 percent less greenhouse gases than a conventionally-powered RTG.
If the hybrid RTG performs successfully during the planned 12-month evaluation, port officials plans to make the cranes a mandatory requirement under new terminal leases.
The Port of Los Angeles was awarded $1.2 million from the United States Environmental Protection Agency to install portable dock-based power systems to provide maintenance power to vessels at berth.
The port, which has been using a different ship-to-shore system for several years at several terminals, will use the $3.6 million liquefied natural gas generator system to provide temporary shore-based electrical power to five American President Lines vessels while the port continues development of a permanent ship-to-shore installation at the APL terminal.
Studies have found that nearly half of the diesel emissions generated during a vessel call are generated by the running of a vessel's auxiliary engines to provide maintenance power while at berth.
Providing electrical power from land-based power systems, including dockside alternative fuel generators and direct connections to the landside power grid, are claimed to significantly reduce overall diesel emissions in port areas.
The port plans to complete the full ship-to-shore installation at the APL terminal within 18 months and then expand it to other terminals. The neighboring Port of Long Beach also has a major ship-to-shore electrification program under development.
Officials from the US Maritime Administration, or MARAD, also announced the approval of an $8.5 million grant to the Port of Oakland for completion of design work for a ship-to-shore power project at the port. Contractor Moffatt & Nichol had been designing the port's ship-to-shore infrastructure, but work was halted late last year after the port failed to receive several federal grants to help pay for the project. The port will use $7.85 million of the new MARAD grant and funds remaining from the 2009 contract to continue the design work on the ship-to-shore system.
In other grant news, the Port of Los Angeles also received just over $730,000 from the US EPA to purchase and evaluate a hybrid-powered rubber-tired gantry crane. Instead of being powered by a conventional diesel-engine power system, the EcoCrane RTG is powered by a drastically smaller and cleaner-burning diesel engine that charges on-board batteries. The batteries in turn power an electric motor system to provide lift and drive power for the crane. The hybrid RTG, manufactured by EcoPower Hybrid Systems, is on the EPA's emerging technologies list and is claimed to produce 85 percent less diesel particulate matter and 70 percent less greenhouse gases than a conventionally-powered RTG.
If the hybrid RTG performs successfully during the planned 12-month evaluation, port officials plans to make the cranes a mandatory requirement under new terminal leases.
