The Maritime Administration has named Randy Rogers to head its new Seattle Gateway Office. will be working with industry and government representatives in the to identify federal and state funding to work on reducing congestion, improve freight and passenger movement, and to meet environmental and community challenges in the ports and their intermodal connections.The Maritime Administration recently established Gateway Offices in 10 of the Nation's largest ports to have a team of intermodal maritime experts in place to work with headquarters staff, state and local authorities and a broad range of port, shipper and carrier stakeholders. Prior to this assignment, Rogers established the agency's prototype gateway office in Southern California where he addressed the challenges associated with the Nation's busiest container ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which handle a combined total of more than 40 percent of U.S. imports. Because of the continued importance of the marine transportation system in Southern California, the Maritime Administration has prioritized filling the position in and will soon be taking applications from qualified candidates for the position.