The port of Long Beach said it cut air pollution from port-related sources for the fifth year in a row, including a dramatic 75 percent reduction in airborne diesel particulates, according to an analysis of key pollutants that compares 2011 to 2005. It said the reductions reflect the port's efforts to aggressively limit or prevent pollution from the ships, trucks, locomotives, tractors and cranes that move cargo at the port. From 2005 to 2011, all of the key air pollutants from port-related sources were reduced, it said in the report released Aug. 6 for the 2011 calendar year.
Port-related air pollution continues to drop despite a rebound in cargo at the Port of Los Angeles, the port said new data shows. It said from 2005 to 2011 cumulative harmful emissions at the port plunged 76 percent, while container volume grew 6 percent. On a year-to-year basis, there has been a decrease up to 7 percent of harmful emissions. The port said the data shows the port is three years ahead of its year 2014 targets for reducing diesel particulate matter and nitrogen oxides, and the Port is on track to meet more stringent 2023 emission reduction goals.
The Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District said it completed a draft EIS/EIR for the Eagle Rock Aggregates Terminal Project at the Port of Long Beach. The proposed project would include dredging, land-based wharf improvements, and the installation of truck scales and conveyor system. Construction is estimated to take 5 months. The proposed project site is at Berth D-44 on Pier D in the Port, currently owned by L.G. Everist, Inc., but to be leased to Eagle Rock Aggregate. Copies of the environmental impact statement are at http://www.polb.com/ceqa. Further information: John Markham, 805-585-2150. A public hearing on the DEIS/EIR and project is set for 6 p.m. Aug. 22 in the City of Long Beach City Council Chambers, 333 W. Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach, Calif.
Talks between shipping interests and the International Longshoremen's Association will resume Aug. 22-24, when small committee meetings are scheduled, U.S. Maritime Alliance Chairman James Capo told us. The Alliance and the union had announced agreement in principle on several issues last month (See ITT's Online Archives [Ref.12072023]) and said they planned to meet again on other national issues, as well as local port issues, but didn't say when.
The Federal Maritime Commission released a Study of U.S. Inland Containerized Cargo Moving Through Canadian and Mexican Seaports, which had been prompted by requests from members of Congress to study the impacts and the extent to which the U.S. Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT), enacted in 1986, other U.S. policies and other factors may incentivize U.S.-bound container cargo to shift from U.S. seaports to those located in Canada and Mexico.
Abu Dhabi Ports Co. is finishing intensive and full scale tests before the Sept. 1 launch of Khalifa Port, the only semi-automated container terminal in the region, it said. The first commercial vessel to arrive, the Ever Dynamic, from Evergreen Line with a total capacity of 4,173 TEUs (Twenty foot Equivalent container Units) arrived safely at Khalifa Port July 18, it said. The company said it will continue to transition and test with individual shipping lines over the next month, with the aim of officially opening Khalifa Port’s new container terminal Sept. 1. Phase One of the Khalifa Port Container Terminal will initially handle 2.5 million TEUs container traffic and 12 million tons of general cargo annually. By 2030, it's expected that Khalifa Port will be able to handle 15 million TEUs and 35 million tons of general cargo per year.
The Port of Seattle is installing three more cranes capable of handling the large container vessels that are expected after the Panama Canal expansion, it said. Its Terminal 18, run by SSA Terminals, will install the Super Post Panamax cranes. The cranes are 267 feet high, and can extend out to handle the new Triple E Class vessels, which can carry up to 18,000 TEU (20-foot equivalent units) with a width of 210 feet, or 24 containers.
Research and Markets lowered "expectations for external trade growth in 2012, with real imports now expected to rise by 3.8% (from 5.0%) and exports by 3.5% (from 5.0%)," it said in a new report: "These factors combine to put considerable negative pressure on port throughput volumes."
U.S. District Judge Michael Simon rejected the bid of ICTSI and the Port of Portland to intervene in what the International Longshore and Warehouse Union called the "micromanagement of waterfront operations," during a hearing July 19 in Portland, Ore. Simon rejected three of the four motions in federal court, saying that claims of low productivity don’t violate the court order, and that there was no proof of intentional efforts to violate the TRO, the ILWU said.
The Obama Administration announced infrastructure projects to help modernize and expand 5 major U.S. ports, including Jacksonville, Miami, Savannah, New York and New Jersey, and Charleston. The administration also announced a White House-led task force of senior officials from various White House offices, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Departments of Transportation, Commerce, Homeland Security, and the Treasury. The task force will develop a federal strategy and decision-making principles that focus on the economic return of investments into coastal ports and related infrastructure, it said. The port projects include: