CA, Oakland

Apr 10, 8:12 Port of Oakland supports 73,000 jobs The Oakland seaport, airport and real esta...

seagull Apr 10, 8:12
Port of Oakland supports 73,000 jobs
The Oakland seaport, airport and real estate operations create 73,000 jobs in Northern California and directly or indirectly support 827,000 jobs nationwide, according to a study commissioned by the port authority, the Journal of Commerce reports.

“The Port of Oakland is a jobs-creating powerhouse, and we wanted to put a human face on the over 73,000 jobs in the region that are powered by the port,” said Pamela Calloway, president of the Oakland Port Commission.

Martin Associates conducted the study, which was based on 2010 data. The port authority generated $671 million in tax revenue and $1.5 billion in wages for 37,116 direct job holders in the region in 2010.
For example, every 1,000 passengers at Oakland International Airport sustain 3.3 airport jobs. Every 1,000 containers handled at the seaport support eight direct jobs.

en.portnews.ru

Feb 11, 16:11 Transpacific container shippers back March rate rise Transpacific container shi...

seagull Feb 11, 16:11
Transpacific container shippers back March rate rise
Transpacific container shippers have recommended a general rate rise of $300 per 40-foot unit (FEU) to take effect on March 15 and further increases in May to restore rates from loss-making levels, their organisation said on Thursday, Reuters reports. The March increase would follow a $400 per FEU initial rate increase implemented on Jan. 1.

Global freight rates have plunged in the economic crisis due largely to a glut of capacity, and many container shippers are losing money, squeezed also by higher fuel costs.

Member carriers in the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (TSA) reaffirmed a commitment to restore rate levels going into 2012-13 contract talks, the Oakland, California-based TSA said in a statement.

"The March general rate increase (GRI) is intended to bring Asia-U.S. freight rates back up to near 2011 contract levels, establishing a baseline for upcoming contract negotiations," the TSA said.

The TSA members, which include the world's biggest container shipping lines, adopted guidelines to raise rates by at least an additional $500 per FEU for cargo to the U.S. West Coast and at least $700 per FEU for all other destinations no later than May 1, the TSA said.

TSA lines would consider further steps for later in the year, after a review of market conditions and outlook for the second half of 2012, the TSA said.

The TSA's members include Denmark's Maersk Line, privately owned Switzerland-based Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), French privately held CMA CGM, China's COSCO, Korea's Hanjin Shipping, Taiwan's Evergreen Marine , and several others.

"The erosion in transpacific rates during 2011 has been well-documented and dramatic," TSA executive administrator Brian Conrad said in the statement. "If carriers adopt a marginal increase that only partially offsets huge losses as costs continue to rise, the result is another 18 months of losses."

Maersk Line, a unit of Danish shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk, said in its third-quarter report in November that it would suffer losses in 2011.

Bunker fuel prices have exceeded $700 per metric tonne since the beginning of the year, and West Coast prices are approaching record levels seen in mid-2008, the TSA said.

Established in 1989, the TSA calls itself a "research and discussion forum of major container shipping lines" serving the trade from Asia to the United States.

Liner shipping was earlier organised in similar groups called "liner conferences", which met to discuss market conditions, freight rates and other common concerns. But the European Union decided in 2006 to ban the practice as against competition rules and the ban took effect in 2008.

en.portnews.ru

Jan 30, 12:04 Horizon Lines reaches resolution on environmental record-keeping incident Horiz...

seagull Jan 30, 12:04
Horizon Lines reaches resolution on environmental record-keeping incident
Horizon Lines, Inc. (OTCQB: HRZL) announced that its Horizon Lines, LLC operating subsidiary has entered into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, under which the ocean cargo carrier will plead guilty to two counts of providing federal authorities with false vessel oil record-keeping entries on a containership in the U.S. West Coast-Hawaii service, the U.S. shipping company said on Friday.

Under the agreement, which is subject to court approval, the company will pay a fine of $1.0 million and donate an additional $500,000 to the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation for environmental community service programs. The company also has agreed to be placed on probation for three years and institute an environmental compliance plan.

The charges stem from the improper use of an oily water separator and related inappropriate record keeping on the Horizon Enterprise, an American-flag containership that sails between Tacoma, Oakland and Honolulu. Oily water separators are used to remove oil from bilge or wastewater, so that the water can then be legally discharged into the ocean.

The company responded promptly and proactively to the discovery of these violations. As part of the company’s environmental review, Horizon Lines conducted a fleet-wide audit and has cooperated fully with the Department of Justice, the U.S. Coast Guard and other authorities involved. It also immediately implemented a compliance and training program, which is being performed by an outside contractor. The program augments the company’s existing environmental policies for mitigating operational impacts while at sea. Additionally, the company has established the position of Environmental Compliance Director to lead Horizon’s overall environmental compliance programs. The position reports directly to the company’s Chief Compliance Officer and the Board of Directors.

“Horizon Lines has always endeavored to operate as a responsible environmental steward,” said Stephen Fraser, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We do not in any way minimize the unauthorized actions by a few individuals that run contrary to the care and training normally demonstrated by our vessel crews throughout the company. We are making every effort to see that this does not happen again, as we continue to provide service to our customers as an environmentally responsible American corporation.”

About Horizon Lines

Horizon Lines, Inc. is the nation's leading domestic ocean shipping and integrated logistics company. The company owns or leases a fleet of 20 U.S.-flag containerships and operates five port terminals linking the continental United States with Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. The company manages a domestic and overseas service partner network and provides integrated, reliable and cost competitive logistics solutions. Horizon Lines, Inc., is based in Charlotte, NC, and trades in the over-the-counter market under the ticker symbol HRZL.

Source: horizonlines.com

Dec 29, 8:25 Port of Oakland looks to prevent another shutdown There's a big reason why the ...

seagull Dec 29, 8:25
Port of Oakland looks to prevent another shutdown
There's a big reason why the Port of Oakland is worried about the potential business losses from another Occupied shutdown - they're on the hook for $1.2 billion, San Francisco Chronicle reports.
That's how much the port spent on all of those new big white cranes and other improvements that were part of an ambitious Vision 2000 program instituted by the port a few years back.
Next year, annual payments on the loan will be at $115 million.
And that's one of the reasons port First Vice President Gilda Gonzales tells us they plan to have "very frank and clear" discussions with Mayor Jean Quan about what "federal, state and local" options are available to keep the port's gates open.
"Businesses are not happy about what has happened," Gonzales said. "They are asking what is our plan? And I think that is a legitimate question."
Gonzales' comments came on the heels of Quan telling Chronicle editors that the city could not guarantee keeping the port open.
Gonzales said she had spoken to the mayor about the comment and that Quan said she had been misquoted.
FYI, Quan's comments were taped.
New gold: Nothing seems to be slowing the real estate rush along San Francisco's swank Gold Coast.
This past year, Shaklee Corp. Chairman Roger Barnett and his wife, Sloan, dropped $33 million for the 22-room upper Broadway mansion of the late socialites John and Dodie Rosekrans. The Barnetts sold their nine-bedroom home on the same block for $23.47 million.
A block up Broadway, the six-bedroom mansion that once belonged to San Francisco's King of Torts, Melvin Belli, was snapped up by the German-born New Age rocker and record label mogul Peter Baumann for $29.5 million.
On the 3000 block of Pacific Avenue, venture capitalist Richard Spalding and his wife, Helen, just sold their home for $20 million - $2 million over asking - to young Silicon Valley newlyweds.
And financial giant Charles Schwab's daughter Katie and her husband, Matt Paige, paid $15.5 million for an estate on the 2600 block of Pacific that belonged to the late philanthropist Nina Ireland.
According to TRI-Caldwell Banker assistant manager Dona Crowder, a member of San Francisco's Assessment Appeals Board, the market appears to be a mix of high-end buyers hoping to trade up and a new set of mega-millionaires looking to invest.
"It's location, location, location," Crowder said.
End of the line: After 31 years in government - including stints as chief of staff to both state Sen. Bill Lockyer and Oakland Mayor Lionel Wilson, 13 years as an Alameda County supervisor and two years as AC Transit's interim general manager - Mary King is pulling up stakes.
Board sources tell us two candidates have already turned down the $200,000-plus-a-year post to replace her. The sticking point appears to be AC Transit's pension plan, which directors would like to scale back in their next round of labor negotiations.
King, who spent the past seven years at the agency, will retire with about $62,000 a year.
"I don't want people to think I'm going out fat, dumb and happy, because I'm still going to have to hustle," King tells us.
In other AC news, the board just named public law attorney Vincent Ewing as its new general counsel.
No go: Former state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata has decided not to run for the Board of Supervisors in Contra Costa County after all.
An area business group that had been encouraging "the Don" to run commissioned an EMC Research poll to test the waters.
The poll showed Perata well ahead in any likely matchup and with pretty favorable reviews overall.
On the downside, the poll also found that Perata - who moved to Orinda after losing the Oakland mayor's race - is vulnerable on the carpetbagging issue and on the lengthy but ultimately empty FBI investigation alleging influence peddling while he served in the state Senate.
Perata, who works as a political consultant, said, "I couldn't figure out how to make it work with my business. I had enough problems doing that once before, and I don't want to do it again."
And with two other candidates - Contra Costa Community College District Trustee Tomi Van de Brooke and Danville Mayor Candace Anderson - jumping into the District Two race, Perata undoubtedly would feel some heat.

en.portnews.ru

Dec 14, 9:35 Occupy protest disruptions limited to Oakland The Port of Oakland was the only ...

seagull Dec 14, 9:35
Occupy protest disruptions limited to Oakland
The Port of Oakland was the only port along the West Coast to report significant disruptions Monday morning after Occupy movement protesters tried to shut down marine terminals along the entire coast, the Journal of Commerce reports.

The Occupy movements at most West Coast port cities announced earlier this month that they would hold demonstrations and would attempt to shut down the ports. The disruptions varied in effectiveness, however, because of the unique geography of each port.

About 1,000 protestors gathered at one entrance of the Port of Oakland, blocking traffic, triggering a long backup of trucks and effectively stopping cargo from moving to and from several terminals.

The Port of Oakland said in a statement at mid-day the TRAPAC, TTI and SSA/OICT terminals had decided to close for the day. Oakland said the gate at Ports America was closed but they would move cargo if police cleared protesters from the entrance. The APL and Matson terminals were fully operational, the port said.

The port is shaped like a horseshoe, so one of the two entrances to the harbor was effectively shut off, said Jim McKenna, president of the Pacific Maritime Association, the employer’s group that represents terminal operators and shipping lines. McKenna said the strategy of the demonstrators appeared to be to congregate in front of one terminal at a time.

As a result, PMA instructed its member terminals to order longshore labor Monday morning based on whether or not the terminal could provide access for longshoremen. Also, some terminals would order labor based on specific functions, such as to work a vessel, but possibly not for other terminal activities, McKenna said.

There are 14 container terminals in Los Angeles-Long Beach harbor, but demonstrators focused only on the Pacific Container Terminal operated by SSA Marine, a port spokesman said. The Occupy movement has said would target SSA Marine facilities on the West Coast because the Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs is an investor in the company.

Several hundred protestors gathered at the south gate of PCT, but longshoremen entered the facility through the north gate, said port spokesman Art Wong. He said there were no apparent protests at other Long Beach terminals.

There were no protests Monday morning in the entire Port of Los Angeles, said port spokesman Phillip Sanfield. Port police and other low enforcement agencies were stationed around the port in case something happened.

Occupy demonstrators were active at Portland’s only container terminal, which is Terminal 6, a port spokesman said Monday morning. Protesters also were active at Port Metro Vancouver but officials say operations there were running.

Demonstrations were also planned Monday afternoon at the ports of Seattle and Tacoma, spokesmen at each of the ports said. Cargo-handling operations were proceeding normally Monday morning at both ports. Seattle’s demonstrators planned activities at the port at 1 p.m and 3 p.m., local time. The noon demonstration in Tacoma was described by the Occupy protestors as an “informational” picket.

The Occupy movement demonstrations on the West Coast shifted to the north on Monday afternoon. About 30 demonstrators held an informational picket at the main roadway leading to the Port of Tacoma, but they did not disrupt traffic or cargo handling, said port spokesman Rod Koon.

en.portnews.ru

Nov 23, 10:02 Agriculture exports face delays at Port of Oakland Agricultural exports are fac...

seagull Nov 23, 10:02
Agriculture exports face delays at Port of Oakland
Agricultural exports are facing delays at the Port of Oakland as terminals struggle to provide longshoremen with documentation verifying refrigerated containers containing farm products have not previously transited Vietnam and are safe to handle, the Journal of Commerce reports.

The issue stems from incidents this spring when reefer containers that had been serviced in Vietnam exploded, killing two workers in Vietnam and one in Brazil. Earlier this month, members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union in Oakland and Seattle refused to handle reefer containers because of safety concerns.

West Coast employers thought they had resolved the union’s concerns over the safety of reefer containers when the coast arbitrator who handles contract disputes established a protocol on Nov. 9 for providing documentation to longshoremen so they could isolate reefer containers that had experienced maintenance work in Vietnam.

Exporters at the weekend complained to port, shipping and marine terminal executives in Oakland that longshoremen were still “working deliberately” at some terminals, which is a code name for working at a very slow pace.

The slowdowns come at a critical moment in the agricultural export cycle, said Richard Coyle, president of Devine Intermodal. “Ag shipments this year are coming through the port almost two months late because of the super mild summer,” he said. Shipments that ordinarily spike in September are just now flooding Oakland, which is a major export port.
The Agriculture Transportation Coalition, a Washington-based organization representing agricultural shippers across the nation, has been deluged with complaints from its members and has contacted maritime industry executives.

The Pacific Maritime Association, which represents employers in administering the waterfront contract, said the situation in Oakland the past two weeks was indeed trying, but Jim McKenna, president, said conditions were starting to improve at the weekend.

The problems are greatest at those terminals that have multiple ocean carrier clients, or at terminals where carriers that operate in vessel-sharing arrangements call. When the containers of more than one carrier are handled at a facility, it is difficult for the terminal operator to gather all of the documentation required under the arbitrator’s ruling, McKenna said.

seanews.ru/event