Panama Canal’s Third Set of Locks Set for Water Trial
Water will start rushing into the newly expanded Panama Canal on Thursday (local time) in one area that was widened, ahead of the waterway's April 2016 re-inauguration. The area around the new Agua Fria locks in Gatun, on the Atlantic coast, will be the site of the preliminary tests, the Panama Canal Authority said. Completely filling up the first lock will take three to five months, according to the builders consortium Grupo Unidos Por el Canal (GUPC). The third set of locks is 85 % complete and the project is now focused on electro-mechanical installations laying the groundwork for finishing touches to ensue. GUPC says it will open five valves on the Atlantic side this week that will begin the flow of water into the new lock chambers.
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.
INSIGHTS: Sean T. Connaughton
Sean Connaughton, Secretary of Transportation for the Commonwealth of Virginia, oversees seven state agencies with more than 9,700 employees and combined annual budgets of $5 billion. But this transportation professional is perhaps best known to MarineNews readers as the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administrator during the second Bush Administration. As U.S. Maritime Administrator, he was responsible for the daily management of that agency and its promotional programs for the marine transportation industry.
Matsuda Nominated MARAD Administrator
President Barack Obama has announced his intent to nominate David T. Matsuda, Administrator, Maritime Administration, Department of Transportation. David T. Matsuda has been serving as Deputy Administrator and Acting Administrator of the United States Maritime Administration since July 2009. He is a transportation professional with more than a decade of experience in federal transportation policy, programs and oversight. Prior to his current position, he served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy at the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), where he served as a chief policy advisor and focused on issues including surface transportation reauthorization…
Admiral Loy Appointed as Deputy Under Secretary for Transportation Security
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta today announced the appointment of retired Coast Guard Commandant James M. Loy to the newly created post of Deputy Under Secretary for Transportation Security and Chief Operating Officer of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). In his new position, Admiral Loy will report directly to Under Secretary for Transportation Security John Magaw, the head of the TSA. The secretary's announcement was included in remarks he gave at today's change of command ceremony, when Admiral Loy was succeeded by Admiral Thomas Collins as Coast Guard commandant. "Jim Loy is a world-class executive and an experienced transportation professional. TSA's already strong team will benefit from this phenomenal addition.
