On April 5, each year, Ports Day typically is a time to commemorate the maritime industry’s role in job creation and economic prosperity. This year focused on the efforts of ports and their workforce in the current COVID-19 global pandemic response and recovery. From videos and news releases to social media and blog posts, Ports Day honored the women and men on the front line of the supply chain.
AAPA’s Seaports Advisory this week offers another perspective of a port industry executive’s leadership in the face of one of the world’s worst pandemics. In this Caller-Times video and pictorial, Sean Strawbridge, chief executive officer of Port Corpus Christi, leads his port’s work to provide much-needed hand sanitizer to first responders at a time when it’s a rare commodity, especially in the volumes necessary to adequately address the medical community’s needs. “It’s an effort for us to try and get sanitizer out to the first response community who needs it most,” said Strawbridge in his video interview. “You know in this COVID-19 environment that we’re in, it’s extremely important that we continue to demonstrate all the necessary social distancing, isolation and sanitizing to ensure we can beat the scourge of this virus.”
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The Naval hospital ship USNS Mercy, docked at the Port of Los Angeles, is serving as a referral hospital for patients not infected with COVID-19, to allow local hospitals to focus on the treatment of coronavirus patients. While the port continues to move cargo at all of its terminals, the port is also working to assist Southern California during the public health crisis. The Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka, who has also taken on additional duties as the chief logistics officer for the City of Los Angeles, is coordinating an effort to get critical health care and emergency supplies into the hands of health care providers. Watch this video to learn more. “There is a critical need in Southern California for N95 masks, other masks, ventilators that are both intrusive and non-intrusive, IV-drip apparatus and other medical supplies,” said Seroka. “We are trying to move these supplies quickly to hospitals and health care providers. If you can offer these supplies, please email LoVLA@portla.org.”
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The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced the availability of nearly $9.5 million in grant funding for the America’s Marine Highway Program (AMHP) that supports port and landside infrastructure development and expansion projects. Eligible projects for grant awards are Marine Highway Projects previously designated by the Secretary of Transportation. Applications for the grants are due by 5:00 p.m. EDT on April 24. Additional information is available in the Federal Register notice or by contacting Fred Jones, Office of Ports and Waterways Planning, at Fred.Jones@dot.gov or 202-366-1123.
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A new throughput-maximizing facility that opened in early April at Port Manatee is helping speed shipments of fresh produce to consumers of Florida and beyond. Port Manatee’s newly unveiled transfer facility, with room for 120 trailers, optimizes capabilities for expediting movement of cargo by freeing up near-dock yard space for stacking as many as 300 containers at a time.
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Georgia Ports Authority Executive Director Griff Lynch in a video update reported GPA continues steady operation of Georgia’s ports amid the COVID-19 public health crisis and thanked the employees, the state, federal agencies and partners for their dedication to keep the ports operational. The Port of Seattle will temporarily suspend approximately 20 current construction projects from April 9 to April 13 to complete reviews and updates of contractors’ jobsite safety plans, an action necessary to protect workers and slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
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