AAPA Seaports Advisory

June 12, 2018

AAPA partnered with the National Maritime Consortium of Community Colleges to put on Shared Quarters - National Maritime Workforce Conference on June 5-6 outside Houston, Texas. Shared Quarters was hosted by San Jacinto College and Texas A&M University Galveston. AAPA’s Professional Development Board Chairmen Noel Hacegaba from the Port of Long Beach kicked off the Conference and highlighted AAPA’s efforts to promote workforce development through the Professional Port Manager® Program and industry partnerships. Later in the conference, Erik Stromberg the Executive Director of Lamar University’s Center for Advances in Port Management and former AAPA CEO, spoke about how Lamar’s master's program is helping to fill the gaps in port management education. AAPA will continue to build partnerships and collaborate with industry leaders to develop and promote the maritime workforce.

AAPA Communications Awards Program Results

AAPA has notified 25 of its member seaports that they’ve earned awards for exemplary communications projects and programs as part of the trade association’s 52nd annual Communications Awards Program. The recipients of the 2018 Overall Award of Communications Excellence trophies - the top awards in AAPA's Communications Awards Program – are: Southern California’s Port of San Diego (Category 3); Southwest Washington’s Port of Longview (Category 2); and the Port of Grays Harbor (Category 1), on Washington’s Pacific Coast. Each of the three awardees represent a different category of port, based on the size of its public relations/advertising/marketing budget.

Port Projects: Connecticut, Los Angeles, Long Beach

The Connecticut Port Authority has officially released a Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking parties interested in developing, financing and operating State Pier in New London under a long-term operating agreement. The Port of Los Angeles celebrated the completion of the $15.6 million Harbor Boulevard Roadway Improvements Project. The Port of Long Beach released a draft study examining a proposal by Toyota Logistics Services to reconfigure its facility at Pier B and build a renewable fuel-cell power plant and hydrogen fueling station.

Workforce Development: Canaveral, Oakland

Texas A&M Maritime Academy cadets and their faculty sailed into Port Canaveral aboard the U.S. Maritime Service Training Ship Kennedy, marking the first arrival of the vessel at the port. Port of Oakland Executive Director Chris Lytle spoke at Central Washington University’s Kent, Wash., commencement and urged college graduates to reject "extreme protectionism," calling it damaging and futile.

Environment: Everglades, Vancouver USA

Port Everglades’s new real-time oceanographic equipment and data are now live thanks to an advanced sensor device developed and installed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The Port of Vancouver USA has demonstrated its continued commitment to sustainable business practices and highlighted successes with its annual "We Can!" report.