Long Beach Board Of Harbor Commissioners News

Officials dedicated two new Port of Long Beach fireboat stations that are enhancing the Long Beach Fire Department’s waterside and landside emergency response capabilities, better safeguarding visiting ships, cargo and waterfront workers.The facilities – Fireboat Station 15 and Fireboat Station 20 – are the products of a $109 million Port of Long Beach program to preserve business continuity, security and economic interests. With an anticipated lifespan of 50 years, both stations…

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…

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…

The Port of Long Beach, one of the greenest ports in the world, has selected HDR to perform the final design as it moves ahead with its $870 million effort to streamline rail operations and reduce bottlenecks at the second-busiest container port in the U.S.The Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility Project will expand the port’s capability for loading shipping containers directly on rail cars instead of being loaded on trucks for short-haul trips. The expansion and reconfiguration of the existing Pier B railyard will create a staging area for loading freight trains nearly 2 miles long…

The U.S. gateway for trans-Pacific trade Port of Long Beach announced $100,000 in scholarships for 77 local college and high school students as part of a dramatically expanded and acclaimed education outreach effort. The students receiving the scholarships were recognized at the Port’s sixth-annual “Celebrating Education” event, along with the Port’s 25 incoming high school summer interns, and the 22 local teachers who were trained in engineering education earlier this year as part of the Port's externship program. The event brings together students, educators, public officials and business leaders to highlight the Port’s education outreach programs and accomplishments in the goods movement industry. This year’s event was held at the Long Beach Marriott as part of World Trade Month.

The Port of Long Beach received a $14 million grant from the Trade Corridor Enhancement Program (TCEP) to offset construction costs for a $25 million rail project to increase efficiency and reduce local traffic.The grant will fund the port's Pier G and J Double Track Access Project, which is designed to allow for better use of the on-dock rail yards at Piers G and J. It will help pay for improvements to freight corridors across California using designated transportation funds from Senate Bill 1 and the National Highway Freight Program.The Port will contribute the remaining $11 million for the $25 million project, which aims to increase operational efficiency, reduce delays by providing greater reliability for on-dock rail and decrease roadway congestion by shifting more containers to rail.

The Port of Long Beach and six other international seaports recognized for advancing innovative environmental initiatives are combining forces to launch the "World Ports Climate Action Program."Long Beach will join port authorities in Los Angeles; Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Hamburg, Germany; Barcelona, Spain; Antwerp, Belgium; and Vancouver, Canada in developing projects to address global warming and meet the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement, a United Nations-led effort to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions."This partnership helps to raise awareness about global warming throughout the port industry and ensures that we are working toward the same goals on an international scale," said Mario Cordero, Executive Director of the Port of Long Beach.

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners has given Toyota Logistics Services the green light to carry out a proposed major terminal upgrade project that includes the construction of a renewable energy fuel-cell power plant and hydrogen fueling station.The planned redevelopment aims to improve efficiency at the Toyota-operated marine terminal at Long Beach's Pier B, where new automobiles are offloaded from ships, processed and transported off-site via truck and railroad.Work on the private project…

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners is scheduled to vote Monday, Aug. 13, on a proposal by Toyota Logistics Services to reconfigure its facility at Pier B and build a renewable fuel-cell power plant and hydrogen fueling station.The study being released by the Port is called an Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND), meaning that no substantial evidence was found that the project would have a significant effect on the environment.Public comment on the proposal was accepted through July 10 and a final study and Notice of Intent have been issued.Toyota operates a marine terminal at the Port where new automobiles are off-loaded from ships, processed and transported off-site via truck or rail.

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners is all set to name Mario Cordero, a former chairman and current member of the Federal Maritime Commission(FMC), as the Port of Long Beach’s (POLB) new Executive Director. Cordero, a Long Beach resident and attorney, served previously as president and as a longtime member of the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners. “After a comprehensive international search, the Board of Harbor Commissioners recognized that Mario Cordero is an ideal choice to lead the Port of Long Beach,” said Harbor Commission President Lori Ann Guzmán. Lori added: “Mario not only has a deep understanding of the maritime industry from his leadership of the Federal Maritime Commission…

The Port of Long Beach’s Harbor Commission on Wednesday approved an agreement to replace the bankrupt operator of its largest cargo terminal. The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners greenlighted the move by a subsidiary of Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC) to take over sole control of the long-term lease of the port’s 381-acre Pier T container terminal from from Hanjin Shipping, a South Korean ocean carrier that declared bankruptcy on August 31. Previously, MSC held a minority stake in the lease for Pier T, where more than a quarter of the Port’s container cargo is moved. The Harbor Commission’s new agreement with MSC subsidiary Terminal Investment Limited (TIL) also guarantees the accelerated installation of ship-to-shore cranes capable of handling the world’s biggest container ships.

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners will consider a proposal by a terminal investor to take over a majority stake in a long-term lease to operate the largest container terminal in the Port of Long Beach. If approved, the pact could bring in business to replace the cargo volume lost at Long Beach’s Pier T when South Korea’s Hanjin Shipping declared bankruptcy in August. Terminal Investment Limited (TIL), a subsidiary of the Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC), earlier this week announced it had signed an agreement to purchase Hanjin Shipping’s stake in the terminal operator at Pier T.

Aggressively deploying zero and near-zero emission trucks and cargo-handling equipment and expanding programs that reduce ship emissions are among the core strategies the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are proposing for the next version of San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP). Proposals also focus on freight infrastructure investment, innovation and technology to improve supply chain efficiency, comprehensive energy planning, and increased advocacy for stricter emissions standards and government incentives to help pay for projects that advance testing and commercialization of zero and near-zero emission vehicles. The updated CAAP provides one of California’s first opportunities to implement the vision laid out in the State’s Sustainable Freight Action Plan.

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.

At the 12th annual “Pulse of the Ports Peak Season Forecast,” panelists told the audience of about 550 people that cargo growth should continue through 2016 even though uncertainty remains as the economy and industry continue to evolve. One of the panelists, Senior Economist Mario Moreno, IHS Maritime & Trade, stated that containerized imports from Asia will grow at about 5.5 percent in 2016. He also stated that the overall U.S. economy would grow by about 2.3 percent. Each spring…

Four structures at the Port of Long Beach’s newest marine terminal recently earned the coveted “gold” status in the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, which encourages the use of Earth-friendly features that save energy, conserve water and use recycled materials. Located at Long Beach Container Terminal’s new Pier E facility at Middle Harbor, the four buildings function as administrative offices and meeting space, an information technology center, and maintenance and operations structures. They range in size from 10,000 square feet to 50,000 square feet and were completed last year in preparation for this spring’s opening of the new terminal. The LEED awards are for the first phase of the new terminal.

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…

Shipping lines, environmental organizations, trucking companies, terminal operators and a railroad were honored today, July 29, by Long Beach Mayor Dr. Robert Garcia and the Port of Long Beach at the annual Environmental Achievement Awards. The awards are an outgrowth of the groundbreaking Green Port Policy, the Port’s commitment to improving the environment. Approved in 2005 by the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners, the policy put the Port on the path to become a world leader in environmental stewardship. At today’s event, Mayor Garcia introduced the “Mayor’s Green Port Award,” which was presented to terminal operator Long Beach Container Terminal.

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.

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners approved the Mitsubishi Cement Facility Modification Project this week, greenlighting the addition of 40,000 metric tons of additional storage capacity consisting of storage and loading silos on vacant Port property adjacent to Mitsubishi’s existing facility at the Port’s Pier F. The site will increase in size from 4.21 acres to 5.92 acres. The board’s approval was contingent on environmental measures and upgrades. The terminal receives imported cement and cement-like materials via bulk cargo ships. The product is stored in a warehouse or in silos. It is then loaded onto trucks and taken to local and regional concrete batch plants.

The action temporarily extends the life of the existing 30-acre storage depot that opened in December 2014, and also allows for the storage of loaded cargo containers and chassis in addition to the empty containers already permitted there. Conditions at the port have changed since the storage depot's opening. A tentative agreement has been reached on the dockworkers' contract, federal regulators granted permission for Long Beach and its neighbor the Port of Los Angeles to collaborate on congestion relief, and private chassis fleets in the region agreed to pool their resources.

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.

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Port of Long Beach’s Green Port Policy by honoring its originators and reaffirming their commitment to environmental sustainability. Adopted on January 31, 2005, the Green Port Policy is a pledge to protect air, water, community and wildlife, and to consider the environment in all of its day-to-day activities. According to the port, air quality and water quality have dramatically improved sunder the policy’s implementation…