The Port of San Diego swore in new board officers for 2013. The chairman is land-use attorney Ann Moore, who represents Chula Vista on the Board of Port Commissioners. In addition to Moore, Commissioner Bob Nelson, one of three San Diego representatives on the seven-member board, was sworn in as vice chair, and Commissioner Dan Malcolm, representing Imperial Beach, was installed as secretary. Moore said her theme this year is “a Port for All,” which encompasses Integrated Planning -- an approach that considers planning in context with surrounding areas -- and including stakeholders in the port's decisionmaking process.

Low water levels in the upper reaches of the Mississippi River aren't affecting operations within the Port of New Orleans because the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has maintained the congressionally authorized 45-foot-deep channel on the lower part of the river from Baton Rouge, La. to the mouth of the river, the port said. “We do not anticipate any interruptions to deep-draft shipping or cruise operations,” said Port President Gary LaGrange. All of the port's berths are at 100 percent of their authorized depths and no restrictions on the Lower Mississippi River are anticipated, he said. Liquid and dry bulk commodities, which rely on barge transport, are the main cargoes concerned with low river levels in the Midwest, the port said. Draft restrictions on inland barge traffic in the Midwest could make barge transit pricier for growers, producers and manufacturers. The primary area of concern is stretches of the river between St. Louis, Mo., and Cairo, Ill., where the Corps of Engineers continues to apply all available resources to maintain a navigable nine-foot-deep channel for barge traffic, the port said.

The deadline for settling the East/Gulf Coast contract between the International Longshoremen's Association and the U.S. Maritime Exchange was extended to Feb. 6, the parties said shortly after a partial agreement and extension was announced Dec. 28 (see ITT's Online Archives 12122823. They said the further extension was "in view of the year-end holiday season" (here). In a note to union members, ILA President Harold Daggett said "the ILA made major gains on the Container Royalty issue that will protect our ILA members" (here).

Grain-handling longshoremen were reportedly returning to work Dec. 27 under the terms of the grain companies' latest offer, which they had earlier rejected. Meanwhile, negotiations for East and Gulf Coast longshoremen apparently continued at the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service, as business interests that use the ports prepared to meet with the Department of Transportation Dec. 28 to urge the Administration to intervene.

As business interests again pressed the government to intervene in the East/Gulf Coast longshoremen dispute, the International Longshoremen's Association outlined its disagreements with the shippers' contract offer, and ports began to prepare for a strike beginning Dec. 30.

The American Association of Port Authorities is focusing its 2013 Public & Government Relations Workshop on crisis communications and management, it said. The workshop will be Feb. 21-22 at the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel San Pedro, in Los Angeles. It will include an interactive crisis planning session and a half-day crisis communications tabletop drill. "In today's world where the news cycle is nonstop and transparent communications are expected, especially in the public sector, it's vital that public affairs and government relations professionals have the skills to communicate effectively under pressure," said AAPA President Kurt Nagle.

The International Longshoremen's Association is advising local unions to prepare for a strike beginning at 12:01 a.m. Dec. 30, in a memo from International President Harold Daggett. It said the locals should establish strike committees that will schedule picket duty, prepare signs that "use only language approved" by the ILA, and that "there shall be no violence on any ILA picket line."

Port of Charleston container traffic was up nearly 12 percent in November, the South Carolina Ports Authority said. The port handled 125,780 20-foot-equivalent units (TEUs), an 11.9 percent increase from the same month last year, for a more than 9 percent increase during the calendar year to date, it said. The figures "are slightly off of aggressive projections set for the year thus far [but] Charleston continues to grow at a much faster rate than competing ports," said SCPA President Jim Newsome. Breakbulk tonnage also showed strong gains for the month, with non-containerized volume increasing nearly 24 percent in November, it said, reaching 117,118 pier tons at its facilities in Charleston and Georgetown in November.

Moody's Investors Service affirmed an A1 rating for the South Carolina Ports Authority's debt, with a stable outlook. It cited the agency's strong operating history, favorable financial performance and distinct advantages such as deep water. It said the SCPA's competitive advantages, such as proximity to open ocean, highly productive operations and a deep-water harbor, mean "the authority will be well-positioned after the Panama Canal expansion is completed" in 2015.

The Canadian government's decision to sell Ridley Terminals in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, was supported by the Ridley Terminals Users Group, it said. Ridley Terminals is a critical component of the Western Canadian export logistics chain and a key enabler of delivering Canadian resource products to international markets, the group said. The government said it intends to divest the terminal to a buyer that will operate it with open access on a long-term sustainable basis. "An open access model whereby rates are set to motivate sustainable throughput is critical in ensuring that all existing and potential shippers can successfully operate and develop current and future mining assets," the users said. Doug Smith, chair of the Ridley Terminals Users Group, said: "A fully-enabled Ridley Terminals will ensure the long-term viability of the asset, for the benefit of the Western Canadian coal market and, related, local communities and economies throughout British Columbia and Alberta."