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Port of Tacoma celebrates TACOMA — At a special series of events held in Tacoma June 26, more than 100 shipping line and Port of Tacoma officials, elected officials, customers and vendors gathered to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Washington United Terminals (WUT) and Hyundai Merchant Marine at the port. WUT, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Korean-based Hyundai Merchant Marine, opened at the Port of Tacoma in 1999 operating an 80-acre terminal. Located on the 51-foot-deep Blair Waterway, the WUT terminal was the first major new container terminal development on the upper Blair since the removal of the Blair Bridge in 1997. At the time, it was the largest new terminal construction project in Port of Tacoma history. Hyundai and the port partnered to invest a total of $100 million in the new terminal. The port invested in the construction of the 80-acre, two-berth terminal and the ondock intermodal rail yard, and Hyundai purchased four container cranes and yard handling equipment. The facility employs 200 full-time personnel with family-wage jobs. It is estimated the statewide economic impact of WUT's operations connects with more than 1,800 jobs throughout Washington state. .
Port of Longview welcomes LONGVIEW — Daybreak Transportation and Rail Transfer of Longview, has launched a monthly barge service to and from Hawaii through the Port of Longview. First launching in May 2009, barges continue to travel to Hawaii with building materials, lumber, steel, construction equipment and project cargo. On the return voyage, the barge will carry containerized refuse, known in Hawaii as “opala”, from Hawaii to Eastern Washington landfills. The Port of Longview is responsible for receipt and delivery of cargo at the port’s staging area, as well as transferring cargo to and from the dock. Daybreak has partnered with SSA Marine for loading and stowing cargo on the barge. Brusco Tug & Barge, also of Longview, has been contracted to provide the tug and barge services.
New Panamanian
president PANAMA CITY — Ricardo Martinelli who was sworn-in President of the Republic of Panama July, 1 has designated Roberto Linares as the new administrator of the Panama Maritime Authority (AMP) and Minister of Maritime Affairs. Mr. Linares, 48, studied at Admiral Farragut Naval Academy and has a BA from the University of Arizona. His business experience includes having owned a long liners fishing company and being a consultant for the fishing industry during 15 years. According to Panama’s legislation, the AMP Administrator’s appointment has to be ratified by the National Assembly, which is expected in the next few weeks.
US rail freight
traffic WASHINGTON, DC — Freight traffic on U.S. railroads remained down for the week ended June 20 compared with the same period last year, the Association of American Railroads reports. U.S railroads reported originating 261,717 cars, down 17.7 percent from the same week in 2008. Regionally, carloadings were down 11.9 percent in the West and 25.2 percent in the East. Intermodal volume of 187,759 trailers or containers was down 17.8 percent from the same week last year. Container volume fell 12 percent and trailer volume dropped 39.0 percent. Total volume on U.S. railroads for the week ending June 20 was estimated at 27.7 billion ton-miles, off 16.6 percent from the same week last year. Eighteen of 19 carload freight commodity groups were down from last year, with declines ranging from 1.8 percent for farm products other than grain to 65.4 percent for metallic ores. The lone group showing an increase was the catch-all category labeled "all other carloads" which was up 11.9 percent.
Corps seeking comment PORTLAND — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is seeking public comments on an updated environmental assessment of annual maintenance dredging of the Umpqua River. The Umpqua River entrance and navigation channel, and the Winchester Bay access channels require maintenance dredging of up to 275,000 cubic yards of material per year. This dredging clears shoaling and sedimentation in the navigation channel providing a more consistent channel for all vessels entering and leaving the river. A change to the established project involves the placement of dredged material at two Ocean Dredge Material Disposal Sites newly designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The new sites meet a long-term need for locations in which to dispose of dredged material. The draft environmental assessment is available for public review and comment at http://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/pm/e/en_plan_assess.asp. Questions or comments regarding the environmental documents should be directed to Dr. Jan Stuart at (503) 808-4543, or mailed to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District, Attn: CENWP-PM-E (Stuart), P.O. Box 2946, Portland, OR, 97208-2946. Comments must be received by July 25, and refer to public notice number CENWP-PM-E-09-06, Maintenance Dredging for the Umpqua river coastal navigation project, Douglas County, Ore. LETTER TO THE EDITOR: E-mail your thoughts and comments to the Editor about news and issues for publication in the newspaper. Give us your name, company and phone number. Phone number is not for publication. Just click this e-mail : dsnews@europa.com |
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West Coast 