About 25 independent truck drivers demonstrated at the Port of Oakland on May 3, and another 17 demonstrated at a governor's conference at the Oakland Marriott on May 6. The drivers were protesting a decision by the California Air Resources Board to maintain the April 30 deadline for truckers to bring their rigs into compliance with state air quality laws. More than 500 truckers were barred from Oakland terminals on May 1, after failing to meet the deadline. Many of those truckers have paid deposits for truck retrofits with diesel emission filters, but were unable to obtain the filters because of a backlog at retrofit dealers. CARB officials said they believe the dealers will be able to install the filters within the next several weeks, and encouraged the drivers to work outside of port terminals until the filters could be installed.
California Cartage Co. President Bob Curry - who was honored by the Long Beach Chamber last week as the "Entrepreneur of the Year" - took the occasion to warn of congestion problems ahead at the Port of Long Beach and Port of Los Angeles unless problems at the terminals are addressed. Curry, the dean of the Southern California harbor drayage industry, was being honored for his work in bringing clean and alternative-fuel drayage trucks to the port trucking fleet. He noted that the ports had plenty of capacity to handle the current increase in cargo, but said unless terminal operators do something to amend their inconsistent hours there could be major problems come August.
Not everybody in Long Beach was there to pay their respects to Bob Curry. Folks from the Coalition of Clean and Safe Ports protested outside the Long Beach Hyatt Hotel, where Curry was being honored, with their own award for Curry as "Swindler or the Year." They accused Curry of "cheating" drivers out of their rights as employees.
Other Long Beach Chamber honors went to The Boeing Co. which was presented the "Corporate Citizen of the Year" and Mike Murray of Verizon, who got the Kingdom Partner Solutions Community Spirit Award.
The Containership Company launched its new weekly service to the Port of Los Angeles last week with the arrival of the Taicang Dragon at the TraPac terminal. TCC will employ 2,500-3,000 TEU vessels to transport cargo between the Modern Terminals facility at the Port of Taicang, a Chinese port about 40 miles northwest of Shanghai, and L.A.. The no-frills service will link manufacturers in Taicang with the U.S. and eliminate transporting containers by truck to Shanghai.
William Friedman, a former director of seaport strategic planning at the Port of Seattle, has been hired as port president and CEO by the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority. Friedman spent 10 years in Seattle, followed by four years as the CEO for the Ports of Indiana.
While the environmental impacts from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico are all too apparent, the economic and political ramifications will unfold in the months ahead. The fishing industry is the most obvious one to be hit economically, especially if the oil infiltrates sensitive marshlands, which are the nurseries for many aquatic species. The oil industry is also sure take a hit, mostly because of the political implications for offshore drilling and transportation of petroleum products. The shipping lanes could also be threatened, since ships whose hulls are coated with oil will not be allowed into Gulf Coast ports. The only sure thing at this point will be more legislation, regulation and litigation.
Meanwhile, the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries has hit BP with $69,200 in fines for 13 safety violations it found at the company's Cherry Point refinery near Blaine. The Cherry Point facility is the largest refinery in Washington, processing 225,000 barrels of crude per day. The announcement last week wraps up the state's inspection of all five Washington refineries. U.S. Oil in Tacoma was fined $18,200 for safety violations; Shell Oil's Equilon Refinery in Anacortes was fined $109,600, and the Tesoro Refinery in Anacortes was fined $85.700. Seven Tesoro oil workers died last month after an explosion at that refinery.
Friday is the last day to submit nominations to the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach for this year's Clean Air Action Plan Air Quality Awards. Port tenants and other operators are eligible for the awards. Technology vendors are not. And in case you think you've done a good job, self-nominations are acceptable. The CAAP awards come in four categories: Air Quality Improvement Leadership at Corporate Level, Innovative Air Quality Improvement Technologies, Innovative Operations that Improve Air Quality, and Significant Early Action to Reduce Emissions. The submit a nomination, click HERE.
Oooops! Call us the Bozos of the Sea. In last week's issue, we said it was the Monarch of the Sea cruise ship that was pulling out of the Port of Los Angeles for a new homeport. It is the Mariner of the Sea. We also said the Caribbean Elation was leaving Port of San Diego, it is the Carnival Elation. Fast fingers, slow brain.
-- The Cunningham Report
