Earlier this week, AAPA officially launched its Port Opportunities with Energy, Resilience and Sustainability (POWERS) Program.

 

The POWERS Program sets forth a robust policy platform for the federal government to bolster energy security and coastal resiliency in addition to implementing environmentally sustainable technologies. Read the full POWERS policy platform on AAPA's official POWERS Program launch page.

 

The launch event included statements of support from federal policymakers, such as Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas, 14th District), Rep. Alan Lowenthal's (D-Calif., 47th District) Legislative Director Andrew Bower, as well as presentations from AAPA members, including Guy Warner, chairman and CEO of Pareto Energy LTD; Jason Scherr, manager of environmental sustainability at Prince Rupert Port Authority; Jonathan Atwood, chief of staff and external affairs at South Jersey Port Corporation; and Ed Washburn, senior vice president of fleet operations at The Pasha Group. Watch a recording of the POWERS Program launch event here.

 

AAPA will keep the POWERS conversation going at the AAPA Annual Convention in Orlando on Oct. 16-19 and the inaugural POWERS Summit in Tampa Bay on Jan. 24-26, 2023. These events will feature sessions, workshops and roundtables hosted by experts on the topics of energy, sustainability and resiliency.

 

To discuss the POWERS Program, connect with AAPA's Ian Gansler, manager of energy, resilience and sustainability policy.

Ian Gansler, previously AAPA's government relations associate, has accepted a new role as the manager of energy, resilience and sustainability policy, in which he is responsible for leading the new Port Opportunities with Energy, Resilience and Sustainability (POWERS) Program. In this role, Gansler will address policy issues at the intersection of energy and the environment. He will also provide advocacy, education, and technical assistance to ports and policymakers on behalf of port authorities in policy authorizations and appropriations in addition to growing and maintaining relationships with leaders of congressional committees and staff offices, executive branch agencies, and other aligned organizations as well as AAPA members — namely ports and their partners. AAPA is very proud of Gansler's growth into this role.

Students of AAPA’s Port Professional Manager (PPM®) program attended AAPA’s Port Security and Smart Ports Seminar in San Diego, Calif., on July 12-14. The group worked on a hypothetical terminal operating system (TOS) cybersecurity threat scenario and developed a response plan to it. Cybersecurity risk assessment and management expert, Max Bobys, vice president of HudsonCyber reviewed their final presentation.

 

AAPA’s ACCELerate apprenticeship program shared program information at AAPA’s Port Security and Smart Ports Seminar & Expo, which was held July 12-14. As a Department of Labor grant, ACCELerate helps ports, multimodal transportation, distribution, and logistics (TDL), and TDL-connected supply chain employers in developing new or expanded apprenticeship programs. Attendees were able to obtain information about IT, cybersecurity, facilities security and a wide scope of related occupations. Visit the ACCELerate Apprenticeship website for more information.

The Port of Everett Commission and the Mukilteo City Council have unanimously adopted a unified vision and set of guiding principles for the redevelopment of the Mukilteo waterfront after an extensive public outreach process. The next step is for the city and port to develop a memorandum of understanding to determine how a partnership would work going forward. 

The Port of Galveston announced that a recently funded $16.3 million Galveston Harbor and Channel extension project will generate $1.6 million a year in estimated economic benefits, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Galveston District. The Galveston Wharves and USACE Galveston District are partnering to fund the federal project to deepen the final 2,571 feet of the ship channel to 46 feet. 

Changing technology, evolving needs, and the aging of both port infrastructure and workers have port-engineering departments scrambling to keep enough engineers on staff who are qualified and trained to handle the challenges. To keep their engineering teams staffed and up to snuff, ports are leveraging an array of workforce development strategies.

Port of New Orleans Harbor Police Department (HPD) Chief Melanie Montroll completed her first 100 days at the helm of the specialized law enforcement agency, delivering on her top priorities to attract and retain the best recruits with a focus on diversity, community, training and homeland security. One of Montroll’s early accomplishments includes the introduction of body-worn cameras for all HPD officers.

May was a historic month at the Port of New York and New Jersey as it became the second busiest month of cargo activity in its history. Total volume increased by 6.1% in May, totaling 845,305 TEUs (468,098 containers) compared to 796,693 TEUs (442,544 containers) in May 2021. This number brings the port's yearly total to 4,034,683 TEUs (2,226,155 containers). Meanwhile, The Port of Virginia set a new June cargo volume record, having handled more than 317,000 TEUs, an increase of nearly 36,000 units compared to the same month a year ago. June was the port’s fourth consecutive month of cargo volumes of 314,000 TEUs or more, which helped to elevate the port’s total TEU volume for fiscal year 2022 to a record-breaking 3.7 million units.

The Port of San Diego has released the third edition of its Blue Economy Incubator Highlights Report, which outlines the performance of each project based on measurable key-performance indicators that are linked to environmental, social, and financial benefits and are delivered by the companies in the portfolio — from pilot project to commercial success.