Seattle Port News

The Northwest Seaport Alliance announced its newest decarbonization effort as part of the Green Shipping Challenge at the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP 27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh.The Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA), the marine cargo partnership between the Port of Tacoma and the Port of Seattle, announced its partnership with the Republic of Korea, the Busan Port Authority, and the United…

The Port of Seattle, celebrating 20 years as a homeport, welcomes the 2019 cruise season with the arrival of the first ship—Celebrity Eclipse, at the Bell Street Pier Cruise Terminal at Pier 66.“Over twenty years ago this community turned a novel idea into a nearly $900 million industry and helped the Port become the most environmentally progressive home port in North America,” said Port of Seattle Commission President Stephanie Bowman.“Today that economic opportunity reaches all the way from Eastern Washington farms and ranches that provide food for cruise customers, to King County attractions that depend upon summer season travelers to support year-round activities.

After an extensive national search, the Port of Seattle has promoted Elizabeth Leavitt to lead its work to protect and enhance the environment. The Senior Director for Environment and Sustainability is a newly created position leading a center of expertise that consolidates environmental, sustainability, and planning functions. Leavitt will report to the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and will serve on the CEO’s Executive Leadership Team. “It is impressive that, within the large candidate pool, the Port’s own staff provided excellent people who rose to the top,” said Port COO Dave Soike. Leavitt has worked for the Port for more than 26 years, initially as a senior environmental program manager and, for the past seven years, as the director of aviation planning and environmental programs.

The Port of Seattle presented Holland America Line with its sixth consecutive Green Gateway Award. The Port of Seattle also presented Seattle’s hometown cruise line with the Technology Innovator award. The Port of Seattle presents the Green Gateway Awards annually to cruise and commercial lines that call at the port and whose environmental efforts are deemed worthy of recognition. “Holland America Line’s commitment to the environment is something we’re very proud of, and to be recognized for the sixth year by the Port of Seattle with a Green Gateway Award is a testament to our dedication and focus,” said Orlando Ashford, Holland America Line’s president. “We are continuously seeking more ways to be an environmental steward and responsibly sail the world’s oceans.

Contractors will begin driving test piles at Terminal 5 in Seattle the first week of January. The installation will last through March. The pile driving and testing is part of the design phase of the terminal’s improvements. Planned dock improvements will make the terminal capable of accommodating heavier cranes and provide deeper drafts to handle the megaships cascading into the trans-Pacific trade. These terminal improvements are aimed at helping us compete in a changing marketplace to support the jobs we have and create new ones, while continuing to drive economic benefits for our communities and customers. Test results could help reduce the final number of piles required and refine the depth of installation during berth construction.

Upon competitive review and analysis of the Port of Seattle/Port of Tacoma Alliance Agreement, the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has voted unanimously to allow the Northwest Seaport Alliance to become effective as scheduled on July 23, 2015. FMC said its decision is based on a determination that the agreement is not likely at this time, by a reduction in competition, to produce an unreasonable increase in transportation cost or an unreasonable reduction in transportation service under section 6(g) of the Shipping Act.

Despite surging production from U.S. shale plays, the scale of long-term production remains uncertain, leading to the question of where will be the next major play? Attention is being focused on Arctic Alaska, where reserves are waiting to be exploited. Geologists estimate total Arctic oil reserves of nearly 134bn BOE, 28% of which lie in US territory, and some 39bn BOE of natural gas. So what’s the catch? Early last week, hundreds of “kayaktavists” blocked the entrance to Seattle’s port where Shell docked its Arctic bound Polar Pioneer drilling rig. The activists are concerned with the environmental impact and risks of Arctic drilling. Wilderness experts say there is a 75 percent chance of at least one large spill occurring in the Chukchi Sea over the next six decades.

Royal Dutch Shell's quest to return to Arctic drilling for the first time in three years could face delays after Seattle ruled that the city's port must apply for a permit for the company to use it as a hub for drilling rigs. Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, a Democrat who has fought against new projects by coal and oil companies, applauded the requirement by the city's planning department. "This is an opportunity for the port and all of us to make a bold statement about how oil companies contribute to climate change, oil spills and other environmental disasters - and reject this short-term lease," Seattle's Mayor Ed Murray said on his website. The Puget Sound region has a decades-long history as a hub for equipment used in energy drilling in Alaska.

The Seattle Port Commission is seeking a passage to calmer waters after facing protest and song over its lease of Terminal 5 to provide a staging area for Royal Dutch Shell’s Arctic oil drilling fleet. The city’s Department of Planning and Development will “review, investigate and determine” whether the port’s plan to play host to Shell — or, to be exact, Foss Maritime — is allowed under the current shoreline substantial development permit granted to Terminal 5. The impacts that worry environmental groups are more than 2,000 miles away for Seattle. Shell is returning to the Arctic this summer, seeking to rescue an investment that has already cost the oil giant $5.8 billion in lease sales and equipment.

Port State Control officers from U.S. Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound detained the container ship MOL Precision in Seattle, Thursday after discovering several significant violations during a port state control exam of the Panamanian-flagged ship, which will remain in Sector Puget Sound's Captain of the Port zone until the violations are corrected. The coast guard said violations included defective oil bilge line filtering equipment, missing security training records and not sending required ballast tank information to the National Ballast Information Clearinghouse prior to entering a U.S. port. The 962-foot containership MOL Precision’s oil bilge line filtering equipment had a nonfunctional alarm and intermittently operating meter…

U.S. Federal Maritime Commissioner Doyle spoke to the Global Shippers Forum in Los Angeles and discussed Ro/Ro price fixing matters; the newly approved cooperation agreement between the ports of Seattle and Tacoma; the first PVO company to take advantage of the alternative bonding mechanisms; China VAT; Commission's 6 (g) Analysis, and the Suez/Panama Canal routes. This past week the Commission unanimously voted to effectively allow the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma to move forward on a cooperative agreement to exchange information and work together to find synergies.

The program intends Port of Seattle to help create 100,000 new jobs in the region & reduce its environmental footprint. "We established bold but achievable goals for the port and regional stakeholders in our Century Agenda," said John Creighton, Seattle Port Commissioner. "It builds on the 100 plus year role the port has played in creating economic growth for the Puget Sound region and the state of Washington. To achieve its objectives, the Century Agenda identifies four strategies for the port to pursue with its business partners and stakeholders augmented by four regional initiatives that identify near-term opportunities for regional coalitions to collaborate and leverage the collective power of a shared agenda.

The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA), a trade group representing port authorities throughout the Western Hemisphere, has selected 22 seaports to be recognized for exemplary projects, programs and initiatives at its annual awards event later this summer. The awards, for achievements in facilities engineering, environmental improvement, information technology and communications, will be presented to winning ports at a Sept. 14 luncheon in conjunction with AAPA's 100th Annual Convention in Seattle (https://www.aapa2011.org/main.aspx), which runs Sept. 11-15. * the Port of Long Beach, winner of the 2011 Dan Maynard Communications Award for Overall Excellence, which is bestowed on the port earning the most award points in AAPA's Communications Awards Program competition.

The ports of Tacoma and Seattle, and the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency announced a combined match of $318k in additional funding for the Clean Air Agency’s Puget Sound Ports Cargo-Handling Equipment Replacement and Retrofit Program. This comes on top of $850k from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), for this new initiative that combines environmental stewardship efforts of several agencies. The funding supports the retrofit or replacement of 38 off-highway trucks, cranes and forklifts at the Port of Seattle, which is approximately 10 percent of its fleet. At the Port of Tacoma, 50 to 60 terminal tractors, cranes, off-highway trucks and general industrial equipment will be retrofitted. That’s about 14 percent of its fleet.

The man who led Seattle-based Holland America Line through years of steady growth and significant impact to the local economy has earned a prestigious Puget Sound award. Business and community leaders honored former Holland America Line CEO, A. Kirk Lanterman, with the Puget Sound Maritime Person of the Year award for 2005. Lanterman received the award on May 11, at the 54th annual Seattle Maritime Festival Luncheon. The Puget Sound Maritime Press Association began bestowing the honor to individuals in 1951 to recognize long and distinguished careers and specific achievements benefiting the local maritime community. From 1983 to 2004…

To determine the feasibility of new technology designed to dramatically reduce air emissions on seagoing vessels, Holland America Line plans on conducting a seawater scrubber feasibility project aboard one of its cruise ships thanks to the assistance of a $300,000 EPA/West Coast Collaborative grant and $100,000 contribution from Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. The total cost of the installation is more than $1.2 million. This innovative project is intended to demonstrate how advanced seawater scrubbing reduces air emissions on large oceangoing vessels. The results will determine whether this technology could be rolled out to new oceangoing vessels, as well as retrofitting existing vessels.