North American ports

The signing by the U.S. Army Corps of the Record of Decision for the long-delayed Savannah Harbor Expansion Project is expected to give the port a leg up in its battle to preserve its place as the largest container port in the U.S. South Atlantic.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey ordered the evacuation of all the maritime terminals in New Jersey on Monday as Hurricane Sandy move closer to landfall on Monday afternoon.

Seaports from New York to Virginia remained closed Monday as the Northeast and the mid-Atlantic braced for the huge hurricane that was slowly turning west and menacing the coastline.

As Hurricane Sandy moved slowly up the East Coast on Sunday, marine terminals, commuter rails and transit systems began shutting down.

Shippers will decide whether to shift their cargo routing from West Coast to East Coast ports when the Panama Canal expansion project is completed in 2015 based on the total delivered cost of the freight, transit time, intermodal options and ease of doing business with port authorities.

Seaports in the projected path of Hurricane Sandy were battening down the hatches Friday in anticipation of the storm’s impact whenever it hits the Northeast coast on Monday or Tuesday.

Deborah A. “Deb” Hadden today assumed the role of acting port director at the Massachusetts Port Authority, following Mike Leone’s retirement from the position after 14 years.

The central message of a study by the Federal Maritime Commission on the impact of the harbor maintenance fee on cargo routing might well be that the lack of a national freight policy, rather than the burden of the tax itself, is compromising the competitiveness of U.S. ports.

West Coast ports are “big ship ready” today with deep harbors and large marine terminals, and will be in an even better position by the time East Coast ports begin handling mega-ships via the enlarged Panama Canal in 2015, port executives told footwear importers meeting in Southern California.

The largest containerized cargo ship in Port Everglades’ history is calling at the South Florida seaport today, coming from northern Europe on a weekly service into the port.

The budget cutting sweeping through Washington won’t help U.S. ports looking to prepare for the big, new ships that will start transiting the expanded Panama Canal in less than three years.

Freightliner Trucks Sales Executive David “Fish” Mihuta recently spoke to the Propeller Club of Savannah about the continuation of the Maritime Logistics Education Taskforce...

West Coast ports from Seattle to San Diego are becoming increasingly vulnerable to meddling by politicians, much to the detriment of their commercial activities, according to a maritime industry leader.

Panama-based vehicle, truck and heavy equipment transport company SC Line is now calling on the Jacksonville Port Authority’s Talleyrand Marine Terminal...

Pacific Northwest grain terminals and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union have agreed to resume contract negotiations on Oct. 29 under the auspices of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

The Oakland Board of Port Commissioners has placed Executive Director Omar Benjamin on administrative leave.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded the Port of Long Beach a $1.34 million grant on Oct. 17 to deploy cleaner cargo-handling equipment at its container terminals.

A grant agreement between the Washington State Department of Commerce and the Port of Vancouver USA was finalized recently, securing the $5.7 million needed...

The Canaveral Port Authority’s feasibility study recently received unanimous approval from a review board for submission to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The Port of Charleston handled 400,492 20-foot-equivalent units in the first quarter of fiscal 2012, the port’s strongest quarter for container volume in four years...

The South Carolina Ports Authority hired John M. Wheeler to serve as vice president of carrier sales, effective Oct. 29.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey plans to complete work next spring on a strategic plan that will guide its business development and billions of dollars in capital investment during the next 20 years.

The contracting phase of Miami-Dade County’s “Deep Dredge” project to deepen PortMiami’s channel to minus 50 feet was kicked off Oct. 15...

H.S. “Smitty” Thorne will serve as deputy director and chief operating officer of Alabama State Port Authority, with direct oversight of the daily functions of the Port of Mobile...

The Carlyle Group withdrew its bid to purchase the operating rights of the ocean terminals at the Port of Virginia.

The Oakland Board of Port Commissioners intends to crack down on executives that spend port money improperly.

A federal mediator said negotiations on a new International Longshoremen’s Association contract would resume this week following “good progress” in five days of talks that ended Saturday.

The Port of Virginia handled 182,318 20-foot-equivalent units in September, up 11 percent compared with September 2011 and the port’s eighth consecutive month of growth...

Year-to-date cargo shipments were 25.1 million metric tons from March 22 to Sept. 30, basically flat compared with the same period in 2011, reported the St. Lawrence Seaway today.

Virginia Port Authority today approved a 20-year lease with its first tenant at Portsmouth Marine Terminal, ecoFUELS Pellet Storage LLC...

Imports at 10 top U.S. container gateways are expected to increase nearly 10 percent in October as merchants wrap up their pre-holiday shipping season