More than 100 participants, some from as far away as Curaçao and Jamaica, came to network, share best practices and learn from industry experts at AAPA’s June 13-14 Communications and Economic Development Seminar in Portland (OR).

Container port traffic in Latin America and the Caribbean totaled 47.5 million TEUs in 2016, according to ECLAC – the Economic Commission for the Caribbean and Latin America, a United Nations agency based in Santiago de Chile. That was down 0.9 percent from 2015 and continued the negative trend of the past five years.

New vessel-sharing alliances and increased use of terminals boosted traffic flows and gave the Port of Long Beach its busiest May ever. The Port of Los Angeles also set a May record with a box count of 796,216 TEUs. Port of Oakland reports containerized imports this May were the highest for any month since August 2015.

The Port of Montreal’s new Alexandra Pier cruise terminal hosted its first ship, Holland America’s Maasdam, on June 10.

Mayor Eric Garcetti and Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia are strengthening their pledge to make the twin ports of the San Pedro Bay global models for cleaner air, sustainability and innovation. They also reaffirmed their commitment to adopting the Paris Climate Agreement goals in their cities and highlighted the two ports’ critical role in achieving them.

Hapag-Lloyd added PortMiami to its Mediterranean Gulf Service (MGX) starting June 11 with the arrival of the Venetiko. The new weekly service connects the Florida port with major Mediterranean markets such as Livorno, Genoa, Barcelona and Valencia as well as Kingston in Jamaica and Altamira and Veracruz in Mexico.

The Greater Lafourche Port Commission voted unanimously at a special meeting on June 12 to appoint Charles Michael "Mike" Callais as interim commissioner. filling a vacancy created by the death of Wilbert J. Collins, Sr.

Port Canaveral’s Cruise Terminal 5 was the staging point earlier this month for a full-scale training exercise designed to test emergency response and recovery plans.

Moody’s Investors Service has upgraded Port of Oakland bond ratings and assigned ratings to a forthcoming series of refunding revenue bonds. Late last month the Port of Vancouver USA issued revenue bonds totaling $30 million at an interest rate that will save $4.2 million over the lifetime of the bonds.

The Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority announced June 15 that Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. will locate its first hot briquetted iron (HBI) production plant at Ironville Terminal in East Toledo. Once in production, the facility will generate about 2.0 million tons of cargo and up to 100 vessel calls annually.