Oakland International Container Terminal News

Independent truckers protesting California's new "gig worker" law blockaded California's third-busiest seaport for the third straight day on Friday, delaying shipments at the state's top agricultural export hub and adding to U.S. supply chain headaches.Truck gates at all four Port of Oakland marine terminals remain closed to truck traffic on Friday. Oakland International Container Terminal (OICT), which handles about 70% of port cargo, restarted some work on ships, a port spokesperson said.Oakland port truckers began actions against the law formally known as AB5 on Monday.

Oakland International Container Terminal (SSA), a major Port of Oakland tenant, said its $6 million conversion to hybrid yard cranes would cut greenhouse gas emissions 96 percent. “This is way better than we thought it would be,” said Ken Larson, Crane Manager for the terminal’s parent company, Seattle-based SSA Terminals. “So far, this is a very successful project.”The marine terminal, which handles 61 percent of Oakland’s cargo, is converting 13 massive cargo handlers, known as rubber tired gantry cranes, from diesel to battery-powered hybrid engines. The 90-foot-tall cranes combine to lift about 1,000 containers a day.Three yard cranes have been retrofitted and returned to service since March, the terminal reported. The remainder will be done by next June.

In the latest development, the Port of Oakland announced that its largest marine terminal is converting 13 diesel-powered yard cranes to hybrid power. The result is expected to be an annual 45-ton reduction in diesel-related air pollutants.The Port said the first hybrid crane began service March 5 at Oakland International Container Terminal. It added that the rest of the terminal’s retrofitted fleet will come online by next year. Each crane, shaped like an inverted U on wheels, is being equipped with batteries and new, smaller diesel backup engines.“This is the Prius of cargo-handling equipment,” explained Port of Oakland Environmental Planner Catherine Mukai.

SSA Terminals, the operator of Oakland International Container Terminal, submitted last week a $30 million order for three 300-foot-tall gantry cranes, which are expected to be delivered in 18 months.The cranes will go to Oakland International Terminal on Oakland Estuary and will become the tallest on the West Coast, port officials said.The project aims to prepare the port to handle the world's largest container ships, which can be up to 1,300 feet long and carry nearly 23,000 cargo containers. The containers can be stacked up to 12-high above deck on the largest vessels, officials said.“This demonstrates the faith that business partners have in Oakland as a trade gateway,” said Port Maritime Director John Driscoll.

Port of Oakland’s container terminal operator, TraPac, concluded a USD 67 million waterfront expansion in January 2019 as it opened a new vessel berth to arriving container ships.The milestone signals completion of a two-year project at Oakland’s second-largest terminal that has nearly doubled TraPac’s footprint from 66 to 123 acres; boosted its fleet of ship-to-shore cranes from four to seven; and added a third 1,400-foot-long dock for berthing mega containerships.“We are grateful to dockworkers, truckers, carriers, cargo owners and all of our stakeholders for working with us during this buildout,” said TraPac Operations Vice President Brian Bauer.

Four ship-to-shore cranes at Oakland International Container Terminal (OICT), the busiest terminal at the Port of Oakland, are 27 feet taller following completion this week of a year-long, crane-raising project.The fourth and final raised crane went back into service yesterday and is ready to serve larger ships with containers stacked high above vessel decks. Oakland already works the biggest containerships that call North America.Stevedoring Services of America (SSA) operates OICT and managed the crane-raising project in partnership with the Port of Oakland.“Taller cranes are critical for loading and unloading massive container ships that arrive at our marine terminal,” said SSA President Ed DeNike.

Oakland’s largest marine terminal operator plans to clear the air using hybrid cargo-handling technology. SSA Terminals said today it will retrofit 13 diesel-powered cranes with diesel-electric hybrid engines. The upgrade is estimated to eliminate more than 45 tons of exhaust emissions annually at the Port of Oakland. The projected cost to upgrade the cargo-handlers, known as Rubber Tired Gantry Cranes, is more than $6 million. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District this month approved a $5.1 million Community Health Protection Grant Program / Carl Moyer Program allocation for the project. The cranes will continue to operate at SSA’s Oakland International Container Terminal in the Port.

A major global marine terminal operator has OKd a new Port of Oakland lease that runs through 2027. The agreement includes options that could keep SSA Terminals (Oakland) here to 2042. The Port today characterized the deal as validation for the city’s maritime future. “SSA is an influential player on the waterfront worldwide, and a significant presence in Oakland,” said Port Maritime Director John Driscoll. Oakland’s Board of Port Commissioners approved the new lease last night. Key elements of the deal include: a 19-acre expansion at SSA’s Oakland International Container Terminal (OICT); purchase of three new ship-to-shore cranes by the terminal operator for cargo handling; and options that would extend the new lease an additional 15 years if certain conditions were met.

Containerized cargo volume moving through Port of Oakland is expected to increase 2 percent annually for the next five years. The catalyst for growth: a nearly $700 million injection of capital from outside investors. That’s the message Port of Oakland officials delivered to trade and transportation leaders here this week. “This is good, measured growth that’s not debilitating for our community or our operations,” Executive Director Chris Lytle told a meeting of the Port’s 55-member Efficiency Task Force. The Port boss said investment in facilities and infrastructure is boosting Oakland’s global trade status. Projects range from a new logistics campus to an online information gateway for cargo owners.

Containerized cargo volume moving through this city is expected to increase 2 percent annually for the next five years. The catalyst for growth: a nearly $700 million injection of capital from outside investors. That’s the message Port of Oakland officials delivered to trade and transportation leaders here this week. “This is good, measured growth that’s not debilitating for our community or our operations,” Executive Director Chris Lytle told a meeting of the Port’s 55-member Efficiency Task Force. The Port boss said investment in facilities and infrastructure is boosting Oakland’s global trade status. Projects range from a new logistics campus to an online information gateway for cargo owners. Mr.

Up to six 366-foot-tall cranes will soon be raised 27-feet higher at the Port of Oakland. The port said the $14 million-to-$21 million project will begin this spring at its largest marine terminal. The objective: make it easier to load and unload megaships with containers stacked high above deck. “We’re already working the largest ships to call in North America,” said Port of Oakland Maritime Director John Driscoll. The governing Board of Port Commissioners approved the crane plan at a meeting last night. It calls for installing longer legs on four-to-six cranes at Oakland International Container Terminal. The terminal handles 70 percent of Oakland’s cargo. Last winter it received the 1,300-foot long Benjamin Franklin, the largest container ship ever to visit the U.S.

A Transpacific shipping route linking Asia and the U.S. will add weekly Port of Oakland stops beginning in November. The Port said that  Oakland will become the sixth stop in the service operated by three Asian shipping lines. The service, known as the Calco-C, connects ports in Vietnam, China and California. It’s expected to bring an additional 50 vessel arrivals to Oakland annually. That could increase Oakland cargo volume by as much as 30,000 20-foot-containers a year. The Port handled the equivalent of 2.28 million 20-foot containers last year. Volume growth could lead to more cargo-handling jobs in Oakland, the Port said. “For the benefit of our customers and our community we’re pleased to be joining this service,” said Maritime Director John Driscoll.

A $1.5 million subsidy program to stimulate night and weekend business at the Port of Oakland has been extended. The port’s largest marine terminal operator responded saying it will use the program to further expand weeknight operations. The announcement comes as the Port abandons its traditional 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. operating model. “The old way doesn’t work any longer,” said Port Executive Director Chris Lytle. Port Commissioners voted last week to continue through June 30 the fund that partially subsidizes extended gate hours. It had been scheduled to expire this week.

The Port of Oakland has set its plan to move containerized cargo once a marine terminal closes March 31. The Port said today its Continuity Plan will keep trade flowing and prevent vessel diversions to other ports. The plan addresses the impending shutdown of Outer Harbor Terminals LLC, formerly known as Ports America Outer Harbor Terminals LLC. The terminal operator has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and announced it will leave Oakland. The Port said its Continuity Plan calls for ships that use Outer Harbor Terminal to relocate to berths at adjacent terminals in Oakland. It said terminals will add labor where necessary and open gates nights and weekends to accommodate additional cargo.

Bigger container ships are resulting in much greater peaks in container terminal activity, which together with the ever larger combined volumes of bigger alliances, demands fewer, larger terminals in each port. Terminal operators are reacting by consolidating terminal layouts and ownership – and by working more closely together – but what are the consequences for their customers? Drewry Maritime Research discuss in this extract from their latest 'Container Insight Weekly'. A recent visit to the Eurogate terminal in Hamburg by China Shipping’s post-Panamax vessel CSCL Le Havre involved an exchange of 11,600 teu, illustrating the sheer scale of volumes per call that terminals increasingly have to deal with. The vessel is shared with CMA CGM and UASC.

SSA Terminals (Oakland) announces the expansion of its Port of Oakland marine terminal facilities. SSA Terminals (Oakland) is expanding its Oakland International Container Terminal (OICT) operations to meet the growing needs of the maritime industry. With the expansion, OICT is the largest container terminal in Northern California, providing a 271-acre facility and servicing 20 international carriers. The enlarged OICT will consist of 5 contiguous berths, stretching no less than 6,000 feet, all with a water depth of 50-feet and with 10 Post-Panamax cranes ready to handle the largest vessels.