Another Longshore Worker Injured at Tacoma Port

For the fourth time in three months, a longshore worker has been injured in an accident at the Port of Tacoma.

The latest incident occurred May 12 while the longshoreman was working on a ship in the Olympic Container Terminal, according to the port. A bar the worker was using to remove lashings from containers on a ship slipped from his control and hit him in the eye and cheek, according to port spokeswoman Tara Mattina.

The Tacoma Fire Department responded to the ship just before 6 p.m. and transported the unidentified worker to St. Joseph Medical Center with not life-threatening injuries.

The injury is the fourth to a longshore worker at the port since March; two of the previous incidents were fatal. The port was temporarily shut down March 25 after refrigerator mechanic Dana Gorham died about 8 am that day while working at the APM Terminal. According to port workers, Gorham was working from a five-foot ladder when he fell from the ladder, possibly after being shocked by a nearby electrical cable.

According to the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s office however, the 57-year-old Gorham had an enlarged heart and the cause of death was ruled a heart attack.

In a March 12 incident, 46-year-old crane mechanic Jeff Surber died around noon while atop a crane he had been maintaining at Pierce County Terminal. He was making adjustments to the wire ropes used to raise the metal containers to and from the ship’s deck, according to the International Longshore & Warehouse Union.

The medical examiner’s report said Surber died of blunt force trauma to the head.

Also in March, a longshoreman suffered minor injuries while lashing down containers on a ship in Tacoma’s Husky Terminal. He apparently missed a step while climbing and fell to the ship’s deck.

Long Beach Receives Best Seaport Award

The Port of Long Beach received the award for best North American seaport at the 2013 Asian Freight and Supply Chain Awards on May 9 in Beijing.

The award recognizes the best ports as judged by importers, exporters, and logistics and supply chain professionals. The POLB beat out nine other ports for the honor this year, including the ones in Los Angeles, Oakland, Seattle and Vancouver. This marks Long Beach’s 16th win in the past 18 years in the best seaport category.

“We deeply appreciate this recognition, which comes from members of the supply chain industry,” said Port of Long Beach Executive Director Chris Lytle said. “We thank our customers, the Asian Freight and Supply Chain Awards and Cargonews Asia for this honor.” The annual Asian Freight and Supply Chain Awards, also known as the “Shippers’ Choice” awards, are based on an annual poll of thousands of professionals in freight transportation services. The awards are organized each year by the Cargonews Asia shipping publication. This year’s event was the 27th annual.

Awards are given in many categories, including best shipping lines, container terminals, air cargo terminals, airports and rail haulers.

Among this year’s other winners were Evergreen Marine, which received the award for Best Shipping Line – Transpacific; Maersk Line, which won the Best Global Shipping Line award; and Kerry Logistics, which was named Best Logistics Service Provider – Sea Freight.

Ports America Awarded LA Cruise Terminal Contract

The Port of Los Angeles has awarded Ports America the contract to provide operation, management and maintenance of the Port of Los Angeles Cruise Terminal at Berth 90-43, known as the World Cruise Center.

The five-year agreement, which was announced May 13, includes two five-year options. Among the services that Ports America will provide are cruise terminal management, maintenance and repairs, security, special event management and the collection of dockage, wharfage and terminal fees.

“We are proud to have been chosen by the Port of Los Angeles,” Ports America Terminal Manager Octavio Sanchez said. “We look forward to a positive and successful relationship with the Port of Los Angeles and all its cruise partners.”

Ports America, headquartered in New Jersey, is among the largest independent marine terminal operator and stevedore companies in the United States. The company currently operates in more than 42 ports and 80 locations, including the ports in Oakland, San Diego, Sacramento, Seattle and Vancouver, Washington.

The company handles all types of cargo, including container, bulk, break bulk, automotive, project, military and cruise.

“The Port of Los Angeles is pleased to partner with Ports America at the World Cruise Center,” Port of LA Executive Director Geraldine Knatz said in a prepared statement acknowledging the contract, which commenced in April. “We are confident that Ports America will continue the tradition of providing first-class service to our cruise lines and their passengers.”

Public Hearing on Grain Export Facility Set

The Port of Long Beach is conducting a public hearing June 5 at City Hall regarding a proposed grain export facility at Pier T on Terminal Island.

The port has released a recirculated draft Environmental Impact Report examining the proposed Total Terminals International grain export facility at Pier T; the public hearing will be to gather comments on the recirculated draft EIR.

TTI’s proposal is for a grain export facility that would enable the transfer of grain and a grain product known as dried distillers grains with solubles from railcars to ocean shipping containers. Both products would be used for cattle feed only, according to the port.

The facility could capitalize on the existing rail facilities and container yard to receive grain and dried distillers grains for export, with a capacity range of 750,000 to 2.8 million tons per year. It would be built on 11.6 vacant acres adjacent to the current TTI container shipping terminal.

A draft EIR was issued last year, but changes to the proposal required that a recirculated draft EIR be developed and circulated. The public hearing is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wed., June 5, 2013, at Long Beach City Hall Council Chambers, 333 W. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, 90802. Parking is available in a structure off Broadway between Chestnut and Cedar avenues.

The recirculated draft EIR is available at http://www.polb.com/ceqa.

Written comments can be sent to Richard D. Cameron, Director of Environmental Planning, Port of Long Beach, 925 Harbor Plaza, Long Beach, CA 90802 or e-mailed to Cameron@polb.com.

Port of St. Helens Coal Export Plans Dropped

Energy company Kinder Morgan on May 8 said it has abandoned plans to build a coal export terminal at a Port of St. Helens industrial park, but says it will consider other Pacific Northwest locations for the facility.

The Houston-based company had been exploring the possibility of putting a terminal in place since early 2012. According to spokesman Allen Fore, Kinder Morgan decided not to seek permits not because of community and regional opposition to coal exports, but because of site logistics. The company couldn’t find a favorable configuration for conducting business, he said.

In January 2012, Kinder Morgan had proposed to design, build and operate a state-of-the-art coal export terminal at the Port of St. Helens’ Port Westward Industrial Park.

The proposed terminal was estimated to require $150 to $200 million in capital investment for construction and development, and would have generated an estimated 80 full time jobs to manage and operate the facility, according to Kinder Morgan. The project could have created more than 150 construction jobs over an 18 to 30 month period, according to estimates.

It was one of more than half a dozen proposed coal projects in the region the past few years, only three of which – Gateway Pacific Terminal, planned for Cherry Point, Washington, Millennium Bulk Terminal, planned for Longview, Washington, and a planned Port of Morrow facility near Boardman, Oregon – are still active.

Despite moving on from the Port of St. Helens, Kinder Morgan says it will explore other potential sites in the Pacific Northwest, where it has a sizable presence.

The company’s holdings in the region include two terminals in Portland that distribute gasoline and diesel to gas stations and load barges going up the Columbia River to supply eastern Oregon and Washington; a pipeline that transports gasoline and diesel from Portland to Eugene; and a dry bulk export terminal within the Port of Portland that handles soda ash, a common ingredient in glass.

Deputy CEO Appointed at Port of Seattle

Port of Seattle executive Kurt Beckett was appointed to the previously vacant role of deputy chief executive officer on May 7 by CEO Tay Yoshitani.

Beckett’s primary responsibility is expected to be port infrastructure development and internal operations, according to the port, which would allow Yoshitani to focus on business development, attracting new shipping lines and air services to Seattle and advancing policy issues central to the port’s competitiveness.

Beckett, who has served as Yoshitani’s chief of staff since 2010, is also expected to direct the port’s public affairs, organizational performance, small business development, social responsibility, law enforcement and capital development teams.

“Kurt has been an outstanding member of our executive team during my tenure here in Seattle,” Yoshitani said in announcing the appointment. “He leads our successful effort to strengthen organizational performance and handles several strategic issues at the port. I’m confident he will continue to bring the same energy and focus in this larger role.”

Yoshitani is expected to continue overseeing the port’s maritime cargo and cruise business and real estate holdings. He will also continue to manage the port’s finances and budget.

“Our greatest asset at the port is our staff,” Beckett said. “We want to empower our employees’ ideas, which will help continue the port’s strong record of performance and exceed customer expectations. We intend to be an even more effective economic development engine for the citizens of King County and Washington State.”

Beckett joined the port in 2007 as director of external affairs, after senior staff roles with Sen. Maria Cantwell and Congressman Norm Dicks.

SCIG Receives LA City Council Approval

On an 11-2 vote, the Los Angeles City Council on May 8 gave final approval to the proposed Southern California International Gateway (SCIG) intermodal rail yard, a planned rail yard project near the Port of Los Angeles.

The near-dock rail container transfer facility represents a private investment of more than $500 million by Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, which plans to develop and operate the rail yard on a 185-acre site.

The Port of Los Angeles Harbor Commission approved the project in March.

“This is a good project from both an environmental and economic point of view,” Councilman Joe Buscaino, a strong supporter of the project, said. “This will be the cleanest rail yard ever built in this country and will mean a reduction in air pollution through better cargo handling and eliminating one million truck trips a year on the freeway.”

The project had been opposed by local residents and environmental activists who have said that the facility would bring more noise and air pollution to an area that has already suffered from plenty of both over the years due to port-related activities.

The two ‘no’ votes were cast by Council members Bernard Parks and Jan Perry, who said they had concerns about how the noise and air pollution generated by the project would affect the nearby residential areas.

“It doesn't look like we’ve done our best to deal with these issues,” Parks said. “There are still fundamental issues that need to be resolved.”

With the project now approved, construction’s due to begin later this year on the near-dock rail yard, which would transfer containerized cargo between trucks and railcars about four miles north of the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, primarily on land owned by the City of Los Angeles Harbor Dept., as well as on adjacent private land in Los Angeles, Long Beach and Carson.

The facility’s expected to open in 2016.