Photo above: Port of Columbia County
Association of Pacific Ports News
July 10, 2023
IN THIS ISSUE:
  • DON'T DELAY! Key deadlines coming up for APP Conference Registration...
  • Notice of APP's Annual General Meeting -- August 16, 2023
  • Conference agenda: Designed to maximize your learning experience
  • Spotlight on the Port of Long Beach: Your best opportunity to experience first-hand POLB operations
  • MEMBER NEWS:
  • Republic of Marshall Islands Project Manager opportunity
  • Port of Stockton awarded $45.9 million grant
  • Lynker’s Dr. Vargas recognized as one of the incredible women advancing hurricane research
  • California grants record sum for Port of Long Beach’s zero-emissions future
  • Port of Hueneme receives $80 million for green jobs & zero-emission operations
  • Commonwealth Ports Authority approves letter of intent for Tinian Port Joint Area Development Project
  • KOTUG Canada provides first state-of-the-art dual fuel methanol escort tugs for Trans Mountain’s expanded operations on Canada’s West Coast
  • Port of Redwood City names Christie Coats as new Director of Operations
  • Port of Columbia County adopts 2023/24 budget, keeps property tax levy at zero
DON'T DELAY!
Key deadlines coming up for registration...
109th APP ANNUAL CONFERENCE
August 13 to 16, 2023 in Long Beach, California

The APP's 109th Annual Conference, hosted by the Port of Long Beach, is quickly approaching! If you haven't registered yet, we encourage you to do so now. There are key deadlines and limits on some excursions you won't want to miss!

NOTICE OF APP'S Annual General Meeting
During the APP Annual Conference, we will be holding our Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, August 16, 2023. This year, we'll be doing things a bit different! Typically, Members provide an update on activity within their jurisdiction during the AGM. It was noted that attendees would be better served if the information raised during this portion of the meeting was provided at the beginning of the Conference. So, while our AGM will still take place on the last day of the Conference where we'll elect a new President and conduct Association business, Port updates are scheduled for Monday, August 14, 2023.

Don't miss this opportunity to hear from your peers on activities as well as share your own news!


The Agenda
Focus on the issues
Presentations and plenary sessions at this year's conference are designed to maximize your learning experience but also provide opportunities for engaging discussions. Confirmed sessions include:
  • MARAD Town Hall -- led by Gus Hein, Gateway Director, Mid-Pacific Region, U.S. Maritime Administration, this panel session sets the stage for attendees to learn and discuss the challenges, issues and opportunities today.
  • Port Member Updates -- Traditionally held during the APP Annual General Meeting on the last day of the conference, we’ve moved this session to the first day so that activities and issues raised can resonate throughout the following days. Port Members should be ready to provide a five-minute update for their jurisdiction. 
  • Taiwan's Experience: Offshore Wind Projects -- we're excited to announce the participation of Taiwan International Ports Corporation. TIPC representatives will outline and provide insights into their work in developing offshore wind projects.
  •  Next Generation Technologies: Supply Chain Digitization and Green Solutions (presented by Milan Karunaratne, Senior Director, AI and Advanced Digital Technologies, Wabtec Corporation) -- As a leading global provider of equipment, systems, digital solutions and value-added services, Wabtec's experience in emission-reduction technologies are helping ports get closer to carbon-zero operations.
  • M5 Marine Highway -- Spanning from northern Washington to southern California, the M5 Marine Highway provides an alternative to land-side transportation services to reduce congestion and greenhouse gases. Transporting goods by barge or ship along the navigable waters of the U.S. West Coast is proving to be eight times more efficient than tractor-trailers and double what is achievable by rail. Mr. Hein will lead a panel of port representatives who will look at the many benefits the M5 has brought to their jurisdiction.
  • FEMA's Distribution Overview and Importance of Pacific Ports (presented by Michael Legler, Transportation Planner, Federal Emergency Management Agency) -- The scope, scale, and pace of disasters since 2017, and our responses to those events, continue to reinforce the fact that the nation has great capabilities and capacities to respond even in the worst circumstances. The challenge is getting the right capability, to the right place, at the right time with the right enabling information for decision makers. In the end, it’s all about transportation.
  • Kongsberg Discovery's BerthWatch (presented by Konrad Mech, Sales Director, Coasts Ports and Inland Waterways) -- BerthWatch provides all stakeholders real-time data of the actual depths in a berth. Bulk cargo vessels can maximize loads while maintaining safe depth under keel. Terminal operators can contract dredgers based in true knowledge of rate of siltation / shoaling. Ports can verify presence of foreign objects in the berth pocket after storms, accelerating recovery and improving port resiliency. Pilots can obtain real time data on berth depths prior to approach. Green Shipping Corridor Partners can optimize loads and reduce lightering / reverse lightering operations by exchanging data at each end of a transit. Find out how your port operations can benefit from this solution.
 
Plus: Spotlight on the Port of Long Beach
This will be your best opportunity to learn about operations and best practices of the Port of Long Beach!

Sessions include:
  • Education and Workforce -- Learn about the Port of Long Beach's education outreach programs and events as well as partnerships, workforce pipeline, and training center.
  • Security -- A review of Port of Long Beach's security efforts under water, on land, and in the sky. The session will include cybersecurity in addition to drone technology to provide air-visual security.
  • Environment -- The Port of Long Beach focus continues with a look at how the Port supports efforts to protect and sustain its environment, including community grant progrms, microgrid development, and biodiversity studies.
  • The Green Port of the Future -- Port of Long Beach initiatives such as ZEERO (Zero Emissions, Energy Resilient Operations Program), Pier W and Pier B developments.
 
Showcasing Long Beach
  • Skylinks at Long Beach Golf Course -- Located just south of Los Angeles in Long Beach, California, Skylinks at Long Beach Golf Course is the premier course in the area. Voted “Readers’ Choice Best” by the Press-Telegram Long Beach, this 6,909-yard par 72 championship course is owned by The City of Long Beach and designed by leading golf course architect Cal Olson. It features Bermuda grass fairways, wide-open links-style play, and superb Bentgrass and Poa annua greens.
  • Tour of La Brea Tar Pits -- As a special treat and thanks to the sponsorship of the Port of Umatilla, we’re organizing a trip to La Brea Tar Pits! Guests will first enjoy the Titans of the Ice Age — a 3D adventure film, narrated by Christopher Plummer, that takes guests on a tour of an icy world with magnificent saber-toothed cats, dire wolves, giant sloths and, of course, iconic mammoths that lived 10,000 years before modern civilization.
  •  Welcome Reception: Harbor Sunset Tour -- Departing from the Hotel Maya dock, APP Conference guests will enjoy water-side views of Long Beach Harbor — the first opportunity to see Port of Long Beach operations in action.
  •  Dinner at the Aquarium of the Pacific -- Conference Host Port of Long Beach and Southern California’s largest Aquarium are rolling out the red carpet for APP Conference Guests! What better way to pay homage to the Pacific Ocean than to enjoy dinner at a gathering place that celebrates the diversity of one of the most important oceans on the planet. Guests will have the opportunity to explore over 100 exhibits, representing all aspects of the Ocean — from the frigid waters of the Northern Pacific, to the temperate Southern California/Baja region and the warm coral reefs and lagoons of the Tropical Pacific.
  • Tour of Port of Long Beach and Long Beach Container Terminal -- Guided (and commentated) bus tours of operations at the Port, including the Long Beach Container Terminal, will give attendees a first-hand look of operations with detailed descriptions of best practices and innovations that have been highlighted during conference plenary sessions

 
The Venue
The APP's Conference will be held at the Hotel Maya – a full-scale resort featuring a Latin American-inspired 199 room property with a distinctive Southern California combination of spectacular, oceanfront views amidst 14 acres of lush, tropical gardens dotted with 500 palm trees in a modern, open-air setting.
 
  
For the full agenda, visit our online program.
 

Sponsorship
We're incredibly pleased to announce even more sponsors!.

There's still time to sponsor (but time is running out!)
The APP's 109th Annual Conference provides a great opportunity to build relationships with a very targeted market: senior port executives, commissioners and management from the U.S., Canada, and the Pacific Islands; terminal operators; shipping lines; technology providers; environmental consulting and engineering firms; and equipment manufactures to name just a few. Sponsorship benefits have been designed to provide premium exposure not only on-site but leading up to the event through social media and direct email marketing.
Member News
Republic of Marshall Islands Project Manager opportunity

July 9, 2023 — The Republic of the Marshall Islands Port Authority has issued Terms of Reference for an Individual Consultant – Project Manager (Marshall Islands Maritime Investment Project). The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) is located approximately midway between Hawaii and the Philippines and consists of 29 atolls, 5 islands and numerous small islets. The country covers an area of 1.9 million square km but has just 181 square km in land area. The overall population is about 55,000, but 75 percent live in Majuro (the capital) and Ebeye.  
Port of Stockton awarded $45.9 million grant

July 7, 2023 — The Port of Stockton was awarded $45.9 million for the Rail Infrastructure Improvements for Sustainable Exports (RIISE) Project through California State Transportation Agency’s (CalSTA’s) Port and Freight Infrastructure Program (PFIP).
Lynker’s Dr. Vargas recognized as one of the incredible women advancing hurricane research

July 6, 2023 — Lynker’s Hurricane Modeler, Maria F. Aristizabal Vargas, Ph.D., has been recognized as one of the seven incredible women advancing hurricane research and forecasting. Working at NOAA’s Environmental Modeling Center, Maria develops coupled forecast models to better represent how the ocean drives hurricanes, including their track and intensity. These models are critical for forecasting storms as they estimate where a storm will make landfall, the strength of the winds and precipitation along its path, and anticipated flooding in coastal areas.

California grants record sum for Port of Long Beach’s zero-emissions future

July 6, 2023 — California State Transportation Agency officials Thursday announced a $383.35 million grant for the Port of Long Beach to complete a series of construction and clean-air technology projects aimed at accelerating the transformation to zero-emissions operations and enhancing the reliability and efficiency of cargo movement.
Port of Hueneme receives $80 million for green jobs & zero-emission operations

July 6, 2023 — Governor Gavin Newson delivers a historic $80,000,000 to the Port of Hueneme for projects that generate social and economic equity while providing substantial revenue streams to help transform the Port to a zero-emission hub. California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) served as the lead agency for the allocation of $1.5 billion in Port & Freight Infrastructure Program (PFIP) funds approved in the Governor’s 2023-2024 budget on June 30, 2023. CalSTA Secretary Toks Omishakin announced the allocations of this funding to Southern California seaports at a press event hosted at the Port of Long Beach on July 6, 2023.
Commonwealth Ports Authority approves letter of intent for Tinian Port Joint Area Development Project

July 6, 2023 — At its Special Meeting on July 6, 2023, the Commonwealth Ports Authority (CPA) Board adopted a Resolution and Letter of Intent (LOI) for a port construction, repair and maintenance project by the United States Department of Defense for the development of the Tinian Port. The LOI provides DOD with the initial support and commitment in order to secure congressional defense authorization the project starting Fiscal Year 2025.
KOTUG Canada provides first state-of-the-art dual fuel methanol escort tugs for Trans Mountain’s expanded operations on Canada’s West Coast

July 5, 2023 — In 2021, after a rigorous and competitive process, Trans Mountain, on behalf of shippers for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project (TMEP), awarded KOTUG Canada Inc. a long-term contract to provide enhanced escort towage services for tankers that load crude oil at Trans Mountain’s Westridge Marine Terminal. Trans Mountain operates Canada’s only oil pipeline servicing the West Coast of Canada providing tidewater access to foreign markets for Canada’s petroleum resources.
Port of Redwood City names Christie Coats as new Director of Operations

June 26, 2023 — The Port of Redwood City has announced that Christie Coats has joined its executive leadership team as director of operations. Coats began her role on June 12 and brings an extensive background in port management and a proven track record of successful leadership in the maritime industry. Coats will have a wide range of responsibilities related to the port’s daily activities, including spearheading various capital improvement projects aimed at enhancing the port’s infrastructure and expanding its capabilities. She will also be instrumental in managing port security grant programs and FEMA initiatives, ensuring the safety and security of port personnel, operations and the surrounding community.
Port of Columbia County adopts 2023/24 budget, keeps property tax levy at zero

June 21, 2023 — Port of Columbia County Commissioners voted unanimously at their June 14 meeting to adopt the 2023-2024 fiscal year budget and to continue assessing the port’s annual property tax levy at a rate of zero dollars. The Port Commission has the authority to impose a property tax levy of $0.0886 per thousand upon the assessed value of all taxable property within the district but has instead voted to keep the levy at zero for the past four years. By assessing the tax rate at zero since 2020, the port has saved local taxpayers approximately $1.9 million.
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