Redwood City News

Richard Dodge, Commissioner of California's Port of Redwood City, announced he will be retiring at the end of July, after 42 years of port service. Dodge was originally appointed to the Board of Port Commissioners in 1980. His service is one of the longest port commissioner tenures in the United States.“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the Port of Redwood City over the past 42 years in various Port Commissioner roles,” Dodge said. “It has been incredible to watch the Port evolve and position itself as a leader serving the Silicon Valley and beyond.

The Port of Redwood City said it will invest approximately $2.5 million of Port Security Grant Program funding to develop a new fire and police boat dock, which will serve as the home base for emergency vessels.The development of a new boat dock further supports the Redwood City, Calif. port's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Federal Staging Area (FSA) designation.The Port Security Grant Program funding enables the port to support interagency operations, enhance training exercises and fund security infrastructure such as cameras…

U.S. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that nine teams have been named finalists in the Wave Energy Prize—a 20-month design-build-test competition—and will proceed to the next phase of the competition. The nine finalists and two alternates, identified from the 17 remaining official qualified teams, will continue their quest to double the energy captured from ocean waves and win a prize purse totaling more than $2 million. Each of the finalists and alternates will now receive seed funding from DOE to develop 1/20th scale models of their wave energy converter (WEC) technologies. These models will be tested at the nation's most advanced wave-making facility…

The Port of Redwood City Commission Wednesday approved expanding acreage use by International Materials Incorporated (IMI) for its handling of bauxite ore imports. IMI entered its initial lease agreement with the Port in 2010 for approximately a 2.4 acre paved open area next to the building occupied by iCracked. IMI uses the area to import, store, and truck-out bauxite ore. In 2012 IMI requested additional area for handling bauxite, and recently an expansion to that area. With the approval by The Port Commission of the amendment to the IMI lease, the area for bauxite has increased by 2.7 acres. Port Executive Director Michael J. Giari reported that lMl, since the start of its lease, has increased the tonnage of bauxite handled at the Port.

After three years of annual double digit growth in Port of Redwood City tonnage from 2012-2014, the fiscal year 2015 Port tonnage declined slightly by 3.8 percent. However, the total tonnage for the year ending June 30, 2015 was the fourth highest in the port’s modern history at 1,715,633 metric tons, reflecting the continuing strong demand for construction materials in Silicon Valley and the South Bay, particularly the high quality sand and aggregates shipped to the port from British Columbia.

A recommended $73 million plan to deepen the Redwood City Harbor and San Bruno Shoal channels, the navigation corridors essential for commerce and the Port of Redwood City, has been issued  in draft by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers' San Francisco District. The port is conducting a public hearing on what is called the "Redwood City Navigation Improvement Project" August 10 at 7 p.m. at Redwood City Hall to allow public comment and recommendations on the project's Draft Feasibility Study and Environment Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report.

The Port of Redwood City experienced a five percent increase in cargo movement across its docks for the first half of fiscal year 2014/2015 that ended December 31, 2015. Imported sand and aggregates accounted for 691,276 metric tons (MT), or nearly 79 percent of the tonnage for the first half of the fiscal year. This was nearly eight percent more than the same period last fiscal year. These products are used in Silicon Valley and Redwood City construction projects. The next largest tonnage was exported shredded scrap metal…

Phase 1 of maintenance dredging of the Redwood City Harbor and Channel was completed this week, bringing the Port of Redwood City channel to a depth of 28 feet. The $12.8 million project, completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), will enable ships to operate more efficiently when navigating the Port's channel. Phase 2 of the dredging project to restore the channel to it authorized depth of 30 feet will occur in mid-2015. The last time the channel was dredged to its authorized depth was December 2009. Since then areas of the channel have silted in.

Reflecting a significant increase in construction in the Bay Area and the high quality of building materials from British Columbia, the Port of Redwood City said it has experienced a 19% increase in cargo movement across its docks for the fiscal year 2013/2014 that ended June 30. The 12-month figure was 1,784,659 metric tons (MT), up from 1,493,190 MT from the previous fiscal year and the highest at the port since 2006. It also was the third highest in modern Port history, behind 1,833,022 MT in 2005-2006 and 1,908,172 MT in 2004-2005.

Google workers commuting from San Francisco to the company's Mountain View campus can now make the trip on an 83-foot, Wi-Fi-equipped catamaran. Google has launched a free ferry service from San Francisco's ferry terminal to the Port of Redwood City, where employees can hop a private bus to work, reports 'The Telegraph' via AP. Named the Triumphant the charter ferry can carry up to 150 passengers and runs twice each morning and evening, with voyages lasting about 47 minutes each way, reports 'The Telegraph' citing news from KPIX-TV.

A private passenger ferry service operating under respective permits with the Port of Redwood City and the Port of San Francisco started service on Monday, January 7, between the two ports on a five-week trial basis, arriving at Wharf 5 at the Port of Redwood City. There is no public service. Port of Redwood City Executive Director Michael J. Giari said that the privately chartered ferry service is being operated by Multi-National Logistics Systems (MLS) and is carrying passengers to and from work from San Francisco to Redwood City for a private employer in Silicon Valley. Buses meet the ferries on Wharf 5 at the Port of Redwood City to transport passengers to and from their place of work.

Coming off of a strong second quarter for cargo tonnage, the Port of Redwood City's tonnage for all commodities in the first half of fiscal year 2013/2014 reached 829,681 metric tons, an increase of 24 percent over the same period last year. Imported sand and aggregates from British Columbia accounted for 642,480 MT, more than 77% of the tonnage for the first half of the fiscal year. This was nearly a 45% increase in the amount from the same period last fiscal year. Although not large tonnages…

The final in a series of five Canada Steamship Lines' (CSL) state-of-the-art, new Trillium Class self-unloading Panamax vessels, the 228-meter long CSL Tacoma, embarked on her maiden voyage from the Chengxi Shipyard in Jiangyin, China on Oct. 12, and is making her maiden cargo voyage to San Francisco Bay. She is scheduled to arrive at the Port of Redwood City at noon on Wednesday, November 6, with sand and gravel construction materials from an Eagle Rock Aggregates quarry in British Columbia.

The Port of Redwood City has received a U.S. Department of Homeland Security grant that will enable it to conduct maritime security training and exercise planning to remain compliant with U.S. Coast Guard regulations and to protect port personnel, property and cargo. The aim of the training is to build up to a full-scale exercise, one that tests the port's ability to react to incidents such as breaches of security or natural disasters. The grant will also help develop a port-wide…

Lorianna Kastrop has been elected as Chair of the Redwood City Port Commission, the first woman to hold the position in the Port's 76-year history. In June 2008, Kastrop was the second woman in history appointed to the Port Commission. The first was Marguerite Leipzig, in the early 1980s, after having served on the Redwood City Council, including two years as mayor. Kastrop was reappointed to the Port Commission in 2012. Kastrop is vice president and controller of The Kastrop Group, Inc. architectural firm, of which her husband, Michael, is principal architect.

The Redwood City Fire Department asked community kids to offer their best names for the City's new fireboat - and more than 100 came through with a wonderful variety of entries. The selection committee went through every name entered, and came up with the top 10, and from that top 10 the finalist will be chosen, to be painted on the stern of this new, important piece of firefighting equipment and unveiled at a special ceremony on August 10 at the Port of Redwood City . Along with the 10 finalists and their families, the community is invited to join in the special ceremony unveiling the fireboat's name Saturday, August 10, 2013, 1 pm, at the Port of Redwood City, 675 Seaport Boulevard.

New bulk ship CSL Tecumseh made its maiden voyage to the Port of Redwood City on Wednesday, May 29. Named after a respected war chief of the Shawnee Indians in the early 1800s, Tecumseh brought 40,000 tons of construction aggregates from the Orca Quarry in British Columbia. The material was delivered to Cemex Aggregates, a major port tenant. This is an essential material for ready-mix concrete plants from Santa Rosa to San Jose. The self-unloading Panamax-sized ship unloads all of its cargo of construction materials in 18-24 hours. The CSL Tecumseh is the sister ship to The Rt. Hon. Paul E.

The $2.5 million bid from Bay Ship & Yacht Co. won the federal government auction. The firm was interested not so much in the space-age stealth ship but the barge that houses it, which will be converted into a drydock, reports 'The Sacramento Bee'. Sea Shadow was built in 1985 by Lockheed Martin in Redwood City, under contract with the U.S. Navy, for a price of $50 million. The goal was to test whether radar-evading technology proven in fighter aircraft could also be applied to ships. The experiment was a success.

Cargo tonnage at the Port of Redwood City for the first three quarters of  Fiscal Year 2011-2012 (July 1, 2011, to June 30, 2012) was 965,033 metric tons, an increase of 390,165 metric tons, or more than 68 percent higher than the first three quarters of the previous fiscal year, Commission Chairman Dick Claire announced. Imports of sand and aggregates in the first three quarters (July 1 to March 31) totaled 614,799 metric tons, two-thirds higher than the same period the year before. This increase helped offset an 85,011 metric ton decrease in exports of shredded metal in the first three quarters of fiscal year 2012. Operations Manager Don Snaman said that 55 vessels (37 ships and 18 barges) made calls during the first three quarters of fiscal year 2012…

The Department of Homeland Security has awarded the Port a $542,490 grant to fund a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Tactical Survey Information System, which will create a digital mapping and data collection system of the Port’s facilities and infrastructure. The GIS and Tactical Survey project has two parts that integrate with one another and requires the services of two separate contractors. GIS is a digital mapping system that identifies utilities, roads, train tracks, and land use designations in a series of visual layers. The Tactical Survey will provide advanced visualization and target-folder information to port personnel and local first responders by integrating with a variety of other Port applications including security, executive management, and operations management.

On Dec. 12, the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) christened the first of its fleet of ferries, Gemini, to enhance the region’s emergency response capability and water transit network. Representative Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) and WETA Board Chair Charlene Haught Johnson performed the christening ceremony. Ms. Haught Johnson applauded the Bay Area for coming together to forge strong partnerships to enable WETA to build a fleet of ferries that are revolutionizing the ferry industry.

The San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority (WTA), a regional transit agency, announced that Governor Davis signed Senate Bill (SB) 915 (D-Perata, Oakland) giving the WTA the green light to develop seven new Bay Area ferry routes, expand existing ferry routes, and build 31 new boats. The new law, signed on October 10, 2003, makes the WTA a permanent transit agency. The WTA is authorized to operate a comprehensive San Francisco Bay area regional public water transit system. “We are on the brink of a new and exciting future for ferries on San Francisco Bay. The State’s approval is a significant step towards delivering more boats, new routes and good landside connections,” said Charlene Haught Johnson, President, WTA Board of Directors. “We thank the Governor and Legislature.

The San Francisco Bay Area Water Transit Authority (WTA) announced that the recently signed Senate Bill (SB) 915 (D-Perata, Oakland) gives it the go ahead to develop seven new Bay Area ferry routes, expand existing ferry routes, and build 31 new boats. Signed October 10, 2003, the bill makes the WTA a permanent transit agency. "We are on the brink of a new and exciting future for ferries on San Francisco Bay. The State's approval is a significant step towards delivering more boats, new routes and good landside connections," said Charlene Haught Johnson, President, WTA Board of Directors. "We thank the Governor and Legislature. This new law brings to fruition the work of hundreds of people who've advocated for enhancing our region's public transit system with water-transit," added Ms.