The three member terminal operators within the Oakland MTO Agreement are unable to provide weighing services for verified gross mass due to a lack of infrastructure, the operators said in a news release (here). Controversial Safety of the Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS) amendments regarding weight verification are set to go into effect on July 1 (see 1603030014). Similar to the members of the West Coast MTO Agreement (see 1604040017), the Oakland operators said the insufficient infrastructure make such VGM services impossible. "Individual member terminals will establish and communicate their own policies for handling VGM procedures at their terminals," the group said.

Major Los Angeles and Long Beach port terminals lack the necessary infrastructure to provide verified gross mass weighing services under international container weight verification rules that take effect this summer, a group of 13 terminal operators said in a news release (here). The group, which make up the West Coast Marine Terminal Operators Agreement, said the member terminals lack the "infrastructure necessary to obtain [verified gross mass] using the methods specified within the guideline amendments." Controversial Safety of the Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS) amendments regarding weight verification are set to go into effect on July 1 (see 1603030014). "Individual member terminals will establish and communicate their own policies for handling VGM procedures at their terminals," said the group. Ocean carriers recently adopted a "best practice" approach to comply with the SOLAS rules (see 1603220018).

Port operators and longshoremen should get an early start on negotiations over the next west coast contract to avoid the disruptions that plagued west coast ports in 2014, said a group of over 100 trade organizations in a letter to the Pacific Maritime Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union dated March 15 (here). With the current contract set to expire in 2019, there remain “important and difficult issues” to resolve, and talks should “begin as early as possible in order to lay the groundwork for a new contract, or contract extension, without major disruption,” said the trade groups, which included the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America, American Association of Exporters and Importers and American Apparel & Footwear Association. Both sides should also “pledge to avoid actions that would slow, stop, or disrupt cargo movement during negotiations,” said the letter.

American ports deserve more investment to help modernize and adapt to the growing volume of cargo, said Commerce Department Secretary Penny Pritzker, Labor Department Secretary Tom Perez and Transportation Department Secretary Anthony Foxx in a blog post (here). Those three visited Tradepoint Atlantic, an industrial development near the Port of Baltimore that made use of an abandoned steel mill, on March 8 to discuss infrastructure investment. During the visit, the government officials talked with leaders from ports, labor, shippers and retail companies about Federal government collaboration to build modern ports, it said.. "As a country, we are investing too little, and as container ships grow larger and larger, more cargo must be unloaded into increasingly tight spaces," they said. Such investments can improve U.S. port capacity and the new customs reauthorization law will mean more efficient enforcement of trade laws, they said. "We need to improve port efficiency now if we are going to maximize [the Trans Pacific Partnership's] ability to create more port-related jobs and ensure that more Made in America exports are shipped around the world," they said.

The new Tornillo-Guadalupe bridge and port of entry facilities in Texas are expected to open to commercial traffic in March, said the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (here). The new port, near El Paso, opened to pedestrians and other traffic on Feb. 4, the Department of Homeland Security said in a separate news release (here). Construction on the new bridge and port of entry, which are hoped to alleviate traffic congestion in the area, began in 2011 (see 11072516).

The Transportation Department is seeking nominations for representatives to the Port Performance Statistics Working Group, which will form by Dec. 4, DOT said (here). Creation of the group, which will provide its recommendations for the new port metrics program prior to or on Dec. 4, aligns with the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act of 2015 and the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Nominations for the working group must be sent by March 24 to Bureau of Transportation Statistics Director Patricia Hu at portstatistics@dot.gov or mailed to Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Attn: Port Performance Freight Statistics Working Group, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Room # E34-429, Washington, DC 20590.

Full operations at the Port of New York and New Jersey were restored on Feb. 1 after a day-long work stoppage by the International Longshoremen’s Association (see 1601290042), said the Port Authority (here). Free time for all containers not already in demurrage on Jan. 29 will be extended by one day at all terminals except RHCT (Brooklyn), it said.

The Port of New York and New Jersey ground to a halt Jan. 29 due to a “an apparent labor walk off” at all terminals, according to an alert on the Port Authority website (here). Local media reported the International Longshoremen’s Association stopped work about 10 a.m. (here). The work stoppage, which comes as the port plays catch-up after a blizzard shut down operations Jan. 25 and 26 (see 1601260040), means no new trucks will be allowed to queue on port roadways, said the Port Authority. “All efforts to resume activity will be undertaken,” it said. The ILA did not immediately comment.

All terminals of the Port of New York and New Jersey will open at their scheduled times on Jan. 27, according to an alert from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (here). Only two of the port’s terminals are open as of Jan. 26, following the port’s total closure Jan. 25 due to a weekend blizzard.

The Army Corps of Engineers plans to develop an environmental impact statement for a cost-share feasibility study for improving existing navigation channels at the Port of Long Beach, said the corps in a notice (here). “The purpose of the feasibility study is to provide safe, reliable, and efficient waterborne transportation improvements to the Port of Long Beach,” it said. “The EIS will analyze potential impacts of the recommended plan and a range of alternatives for navigation improvements. Alternatives will include both structural and non-structural measures.” Container vessels at the port cannot load to maximum capacity because of depth limitations in channels accessing the Port’s container terminals, it said. Because of this, port workers are light-loading vessels at the point of origin, causing delays to more and more containerships. The study will look at this problem, as well as others within the context of the persisting inefficient operation of deep draft vessels in the Port’s secondary channels. Structural and non-structural measures will be considered.