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Harbor Department News

19 Mar 2020

AAPA Elects Cordero as Board Chairman

Mario Cordero (Photo: AAPA)

The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) has elected Mario Cordero, executive director of California’s Port of Long Beach, to serve as the association’s next Chairman of the Board.Cordero will be installed as Chairman on the final day of AAPA’s 2020 Annual Convention, set for September 13-16, in Québec City, QC, Canada. He will assume the AAPA chairmanship from Gary G. Nelson, executive director of Washington State’s Port of Grays Harbor, who began his term on October 15…

29 Oct 2019

PoLB Names Heather Tomley as MD

Port of Long Beach (PoLB) informed that the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners voted unanimously to promote Heather Tomley, a widely respected Southern California leader in environmental improvement programs, to Managing Director of Planning and Environmental Affairs for the Harbor Department.Tomley, with the Department since 2005, has served as the Acting Managing Director for the past 12 months while the Port conducted a nationwide search for candidates for the executive position.“Heather has deep experience creating and managing cutting-edge projects that have dramatically improved air quality and earned crucial industry cooperation…

01 Nov 2018

Port of Los Angeles Issues Statement on Box Incident

The Port of Los Angeles (CREDIT: Port of Los Angeles)

The following information was released by the Port of Los Angeles:Because our facilitation of a safe and secure supply chain is top priority at the Port of Los Angeles, the incident involving an export-bound shipping container that exploded inside a marine terminal storage area here on October 30 is of paramount concern to the Los Angeles Harbor Department and Los Angeles Port Police. Preliminary analysis by the Los Angeles Port Police Hazardous Materials Unit, Los Angeles Police…

02 Apr 2018

Port of Los Angeles to Get New Container Staging Facility

The Harbor Performance Enhancement Center (HPEC), a unique $130 million-dollar public-private partnership dedicated to facilitating sustainable freight movement and supply chain efficiencies throughout the United States, has completed a strategic transaction with Macquarie Principal Finance, to provide capital for the development of the 5.5 million square foot container staging hub located at Terminal Island in the Port of Los Angeles (POLA). As detailed in a brief video, the public-private project will transform 110 acres that is currently fallow and bring the latest technology and a unique set of operating capabilities to bear on the challenges that currently constrain freight flow through the busiest port in the Western Hemisphere.

26 Jan 2017

Long Beach Port 'on track for green future'

The Port of Long Beach sails into 2017 propelled by transformative modernization projects all across the harbor, excellent financial health, an industry-leading record of environmental progress, and a strong commitment to working with the City and neighbors, said Harbor Department leaders Wednesday morning at the annual “State of the Port” event. About 300 industry stakeholders, civic leaders and community members attended the gathering at the Long Beach Convention Center to hear about the Port’s plans to enhance its rail network and other efficiencies to pursue competitiveness in the year ahead. Despite a 2016 that took the shipping industry and the Port into some rough seas…

31 Aug 2016

Long Beach Port Acquires 125 Acres for Cargo Ops

U.S. Navy, Maritime Administration and California Environmental Protection Agency representatives joined City and Port officials today to commemorate the approval to transfer ownership of 125 acres of the former Naval Complex to the City of Long Beach. The property transfer commemoration highlighted the economic success of a thriving shipping terminal and other operations at the former Navy facility. Today, the Pier T container terminal is one of the Port of Long Beach’s busiest — able to accommodate megaships and handling billions of dollars’ worth of trade. The acreage was part of the former Long Beach Naval Station and Naval Shipyard…

27 Jul 2016

Guzmán Re-elected Harbor Commission President, Long Beach Port

Harbor Commission President Lori Ann Guzmán was re-elected Monday evening to serve a second one-year term leading the board that oversees the Port of Long Beach, the nation’s second-busiest seaport. The five-member Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners also selected Lou Anne Bynum as Vice President and Tracy Egoscue as Secretary, continuing in the roles they have served in for the past 12 months. Each July, the Commission selects from its own members the President and the other Board officers for one-year terms. Guzmán, who is the Director of Finance for the City of Huntington Beach, was appointed to the Harbor Commission in 2013 by then-Mayor Bob Foster. The Commission President chairs Board meetings and represents the Port to the public.

15 May 2016

Long Beach's Record Port Community Sponsorships

The Board of Harbor Commissioners last evening awarded 83 sponsorships totaling $359,795, capping off a record year of Port community sponsorships that highlight the Port of Long Beach’s role in international trade and dedication to social responsibility. With the latest sponsorships, the Port has given a total of $737,995 in the current fiscal year, which began last October, for 159 events representing a wide cross section of the city and causes such as the arts, environment, social justice and historic preservation. Harbor commissioners in August 2015 adopted new guidelines for the Port's community sponsorship program with goals of increasing participation, setting clear, user-friendly guidelines and enhancing the Port's focus on public service.

16 Mar 2016

Long Beach Port Appoints 3 Directors

The Board of Harbor Commissioners has approved the appointments of new directors for the Port of Long Beach’s Finance, Surveys and Transportation Planning divisions. Maurina Lee, previously the Harbor Department’s controller, will become the Director of Finance. She has been controller since March of last year and was previously finance manager for the city of Downey from 2006 to 2015. The Finance Division oversees an annual budget that is $829 million this fiscal year. It is part of the Finance and Administration Bureau. Robert Seidel, who has been the Port of Long Beach’s chief surveyor since 2006, will be the new Director of Surveys.

01 Oct 2015

Port of LA: 10 Years of Clean Air Gains

Findings from its 10th consecutive year of tracking air pollution show the Port of Los Angeles has set new records for cutting harmful emissions from port-related sources, with diesel particulate matter (DPM) down an unprecedented 85 percent and sulfur oxides (SOx) bordering on total elimination, having plummeted 97 percent since 2005. The data also shows the Port has surpassed its 2014 emission reduction goals set in 2010 for DPM, SOx and nitrogen oxides (NOx). Released today, the Port’s 2014 Inventory of Air Emissions reports NOx emissions are down 52 percent. The percentage fell slightly from the Port’s best year for NOx reduction – 57 percent in 2013 – largely due to congestion experienced at all West Coast ports during fall 2014.

20 Sep 2015

Long Beach Port Weighs Options to Enhance Efficiency

The Port of Long Beach today announced plans to seek new ways to use a largely undeveloped 150-acre pier to help move cargo more efficiently as the Port continues to welcome increasing trade. With the looming closure at the end of this month of the temporary storage depot at the Terminal Island parcel known as “Pier S,” Harbor Department officials will begin a process to solicit input on potential uses from industry, environmental groups and the community. Any proposal would undergo a full environmental review. In the midst of the worst congestion to strike the port complex in years, the 30-acre temporary depot opened on Pier S on Dec. 29, 2014, to store empty cargo containers and free up truck chassis needed to haul loaded containers out of congested terminals at the time.

18 Sep 2015

Commission Appointments at Long Beach Port

The Long Beach City Council on Tuesday confirmed the appointments of Long Beach City College executive Lou Anne Bynum and former City Councilman Doug Drummond to second terms on the Board of Harbor Commissioners. Mayor Robert Garcia announced the reappointments last month. Both Bynum, the Harbor Board Vice President, and Drummond, a former Board President, were originally appointed by Garcia’s predecessor, Mayor Bob Foster. “These commissioners have done outstanding jobs helping to lead the Harbor Department,” Garcia said. “Their commitment to continuing public service will provide stability and consistency to the decisions governing Long Beach’s most important economic engine.

14 Aug 2015

Port of Long Beach Awarded FEMA Security Grants

The Port of Long Beach’s Security Division has been awarded $3.4 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants to fund ongoing projects that protect the port. The grants will enhance port security systems such as physical security equipment and monitoring and detection systems, including the Virtual Port System, and improve the resiliency of port security systems, the port said. “Protecting workers and the community, as well as ensuring business continuity, are top priorities at the Port of Long Beach,” said Lori Ann Guzmán, President of the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners. FEMA, which is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security…

02 Jun 2015

Long Beach Harbor Commissioners Adopt Budget

Photo: Port of Long Beach

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners has approved an $829 million budget for the Harbor Department’s next fiscal year, including more than a half a billion dollars for capital improvements at the Port of Long Beach. The budget, which will be presented to the Long Beach City Council for its consideration, designates $555 million for capital investments including the Port’s major terminal redevelopment and bridge replacement projects. For the fiscal year starting Oct. 1, 2015, the budget anticipates a 6.1 percent increase in operating revenue over the current fiscal year’s income.

22 Apr 2015

EPA Awards Clean Diesel Grants to US Ports

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded $5 million in grant funding for clean diesel projects at U.S. ports. The selected projects in California, Oregon, New Jersey and Texas will improve the air quality for people who live and work near the ports, and reduce emissions of the greenhouse gasses that lead to climate change, EPA said. “EPA and ports have a shared interest in working together to find practical solutions to reduce pollution for the benefit of workers and communities,” EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said at a conference hosted by American Association of Ports Authorities, where she announced the grant recipients.

11 Mar 2015

Long Beach Mayor, Port Leaders in Europe

Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia is leading a Port of Long Beach delegation on a weeklong business development trip this week to meet with executives at the European home offices of the world’s three largest shipping lines. The group will update Port customers on the impact of the recent labor negotiations and steps being taken to improve congestion and make the Port more efficient. Delegation members include Harbor Commission President Doug Drummond, Commission Vice President Rich Dines, Commissioner Lou Anne Bynum and Harbor Department Chief Executive Jon Slangerup. "It's incredibly important that we let our customers know that despite the labor negotiation process and congestion, the Port of Long Beach is still the best place to do business on the West Coast," said Mayor Garcia.

26 Feb 2015

Christensen, Farren Join Port of Long Beach

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners this week appointed port industry veterans Michael Christensen and Glenn Farren to newly created management positions to enhance cargo flow and service at the Port of Long Beach. Christensen, who most recently was Deputy Executive Director at the Port of Los Angeles, was appointed Port of Long Beach’s Senior Executive for Supply Chain Optimization, reporting directly to Chief Executive Jon Slangerup. Farren, who was General Manager for Hapag-Lloyd America, will be Long Beach’s Director of Tenant Services and Operations, a new position created to emphasize the importance of relations with Port tenants.

17 Nov 2014

Port of Long Beach Working to Relieve Congestion

Photo: Port of Long Beach

Acting to relieve cargo delivery delays, the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners on Thursday approved the use of Port of Long Beach property as a temporary site for the storage of empty containers, which will help to free up needed equipment to move cargo out of shipping terminals faster. The “Temporary Empty Container Depot” will be operated on 30 acres of a vacant, undeveloped area on Pier S on Terminal Island. The temporary depot will help put back into circulation more of the chassis -- the wheeled trailer-frames that trucks use to haul cargo containers.

03 Nov 2014

Long Beach Port Appoints 4 Executives

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners continued to fill key positions in Harbor Department leadership ranks this week with four additional appointments of experienced executives to oversee Port of Long Beach operations. The four professionals all have long and valuable experience in their fields of engineering, maintenance and finance, and come from outside the Port of Long Beach. Two of the positions are newly created and two were vacated earlier this year. Duane Kenagy has been appointed to the newly created position of Capital Programs Executive to oversee the Port’s capital improvement program and will report directly to the Chief Executive.

27 Oct 2014

Executive Appointments at Long Beach Port

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners recently filled key Harbor Department executive posts with staff veterans as the Department continues to undergo a reorganization initiated by Chief Executive Jon Slangerup. Dr. Noel Hacegaba, who has been serving as the Acting Deputy Executive Director/Chief Operating Officer since June 2013, was named as the new Managing Director of Commercial Operations/Chief Commercial Officer. Prior to the 2013 acting appointment, Hacegaba was Executive Officer to the Board of Harbor Commissioners, a position he was named to in July 2010. The newly created Commercial Operations Bureau, overseen now by Hacegaba, includes the Business Development, Security Services, and Tenant Services & Operations divisions.

23 Oct 2014

Port of Long Beach Announces Executive Appointments

Dr. Noel Hacegaba (left) and Sean Gamette, P.E.

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners recently filled key Harbor Department executive posts with staff veterans as the Department continues to undergo a reorganization initiated by Chief Executive Jon Slangerup. Dr. Noel Hacegaba, who has been serving as the Acting Deputy Executive Director/Chief Operating Officer since June 2013, was named as the new Managing Director of Commercial Operations/Chief Commercial Officer. Prior to the 2013 acting appointment, Hacegaba was Executive Officer to the Board of Harbor Commissioners, a position he was named to in July 2010.

17 Oct 2014

Long Beach Officials on Trade Mission in Asia

Photo: Port of Long Beach

Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, Harbor Commissioners and senior Harbor Department staff are traveling to several Asian countries, meeting with the Port of Long Beach’s key customers to retain and bring more business to Long Beach. The Long Beach officials are scheduled to meet with senior leadership of shipping lines based in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and Japan to explain the Port’s competitive advantages for business, and to introduce the new Mayor, Harbor Commissioners and Chief Executive.

18 Sep 2014

Environmental Attorney Joins Long Beach Harbor Commission

Environmental attorney and Long Beach resident Tracy Egoscue joined the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners on Tuesday as the first Commissioner appointed by newly elected Mayor Robert Garcia. She was approved by the City Council last week for a six-year term. Egoscue heads a Long Beach-based private law practice, and in the past was Executive Officer of the California Regional Water Quality Control Board – Los Angeles Region, and prior to that served as Executive Director of Santa Monica Baykeeper, an environmental advocacy group. She has also practiced environmental litigation as a Deputy Attorney General for the California Department of Justice, and worked on issues encompassing the Air Resources Board, the California Environmental Quality Act and the Federal Clean Water Act.