AAPA’s Advisory this week brings another perspective from the passenger vessel industry in dealing with decisions centering around the coronavirus pandemic. In this WorkBoat blog and video, Capt. Alan Bernstein, owner of BB Riverboats, discusses business, decision-making and weathering COVID-19. 

To help Northeast Florida companies better manage cash flow during COVID-19, the Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) is now deferring the application fee for all new Foreign Trade Zone No. 64 applications received by July 31. The Port of Long Beach is working with medical supply companies, ocean carriers, marine terminal operators, dockworkers and truckers to expedite the importation of crucial health equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic. PortMiami will be waiving all lay berth fees for home-ported vessels that request to berth alongside the port during the next 30 days. This time period could be amended, as needed. Building on recent tenant relief at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, the Port of Seattle will provide rent relief for qualifying business tenants and customers throughout its maritime and landside properties, which include office, retail and restaurants, along with recreational and commercial moorage. 

The Port of Halifax announced that Halifax Port Days 2020 has been suspended until 2021, due to the coronavirus pandemic that is expected to last for weeks to come. Del Monte Fresh Produce (Del Monte), a top fresh fruit and produce customer at the Port of Hueneme, delivered a full truck load of fresh fruit to the City of Oxnard, helping those in need during the COVID-19 crisis. Over the past year, Del Monte’s operation at the Port of Hueneme has donated 1,077,474 pounds of fresh produce (32,469 boxes) to Ventura County’s Food Share. This represents Del Monte’s highest donation to a single entity in the entire United States! Port Saint John harbor was the site of “Solidarity to All,” a coming together of the workforce and transportation industry partners to salute all COVID-19 frontline workers with a one-minute, noise-making and tug water display.

Container activity at Port Houston, the largest container port on the U.S. Gulf Coast, began slowing in late March as the coronavirus outbreak continued to spread. Port Houston handled a total of 248,280 TEUs in March, a drop of 11% compared to March of 2019, when 280,721 TEUs were recorded. Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka, in his latest video message, states that while port operations are smooth, cargo volume has declined 30.9% in March and 18.5% during the first quarter of the year. Port of Oakland loaded container volume declined 7.4% in March from 2019 totals, and a year-over-year drop in containerized import volume of 10.3%. The port said the cargo decrease is a result of the coronavirus pandemic that has weakened global trade.  

The first ocean-going vessel, M/V Muntgracht, a 466-foot general cargo carrier, arrived at the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor after her five-day voyage through the St. Lawrence Seaway, officially launching the 2020 international shipping season. The ceremonial Steel Stein, a long-running tradition at the port, was canceled this year due to COVID-19 precautions. Coronavirus may be hampering global trade but it hasn't broken the supply chain at the Port of Oakland. The largest ship ever to call in Oakland arrived this week. The 1,312 foot-long container vessel MSC Anna can transport up to 19,200 TEUs and was scheduled to berth at the port on April 16.  

The Port of Corpus Christi announced that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a $97.9 million construction contract to Callan Marine, Ltd., to complete the second phase of the four-phase Corpus Christi Ship Channel Improvement Project.

Liebherr Container Cranes Ltd. will supply two rail mounted gantry cranes to Freight Village Vorsino, located outside Moscow, Russia. The cranes will be designed and manufactured by Liebherr in Ireland and will ship in large preassembled components to St. Petersburg. From there, they will travel by road for assembly and commissioning in Freight Village.

The Port of Indiana-Mount Vernon recently completed a $2 million capital improvement project geared toward attracting more cargo to the southwest Indiana port. The 40-year-old general cargo terminal facility has a new concrete floor and an overhead gantry crane, making the terminal an asset for generations. The Port of Long Beach has been awarded a $14.5 million Port Infrastructure Development Program grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration. The grant will help fund the “Terminal Island Wye Track Realignment” railroad project, which will move trains in and out of the port faster, reduce locomotive idling and improve safety. North Carolina State Ports Authority is now equipped to handle more refrigerated containers than ever following the completion of a new refrigerated container yard at the Port of Wilmington. The project boosts the port’s on-terminal refrigerated container (reefer) plugs from 235 to 775 with the ability to expand to more than 1,000 plugs through Phase 2 of the project.

Pin Oak Corpus Christi, LLC (“Pin Oak Terminals”) received its first vessel Wednesday at the newly commissioned Oil Dock 14 at the Port of Corpus Christi. The new dock can accommodate fully laden bulk liquid tankers up to Suez-max class with loading rates in excess of 40,000 barrels per hour.

Academic Professional Track (Non-tenure): Instructional Assistant Professor, College Station, TX; Texas A&M University