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To keep the ports of Seattle and Tacoma competitive in the 21stcentury, we need to adapt our businesses to the demands of a changing marketplace. That’s why we plan to form the Seaport Alliance to unify management of our marine cargo facilities and business, a potential game-changer in 2015.
From the beginning, the advantages of shipping through Puget Sound were clear: the shorter trans-Pacific route because of our proximity to Asia, coupled with robust road and rail connections, earned us a significant role in delivering consumer goods bound for many parts of the U.S.
Combined, the ports of Seattle and Tacoma are the third-largest container gateway in North America, which translates into huge benefits for Puget Sound area residents and state of Washington.
Competitive pressures are leading shipping lines to build and deploy ever larger ships. The vessels being built today are more than double the capacity of ships that called at our ports just a few years ago, and many foresee even larger ships in the future.
Throughout the world, infrastructure is being modified to accommodate these massive ships and get them in and out of port as quickly as possible.
As the industry seeks to gain greater economies of scale, the demands for greater reliability and efficiency within the port system will continue.
The Seaport Alliance is the outgrowth of talks held in 2014 under the sanction and guidance of the Federal Maritime Commission. The ports submitted a Framework Interlocal Agreement to the FMC, which went into effect Dec. 1, 2014, and aim to advance a more detailed, final agreement to the FMC by the end of March.
John Wolfe and Ted J. Fick, CEOs of the Ports of Tacoma and Seattle (Seaport Alliance)