Two new incentives to encourage trade at the Port of Long Beach were approved July 2 by the Board of Harbor Commissioners. One is designed to encourage larger, cleaner ships to dock at the Port, and the other aimed at attracting more containers to come via rail through Long Beach. Under the programs, which launch Aug. 1, the largest ships calling at the Port will have their daily dockage fees capped, and ocean carriers who move additional containers via rail through Long Beach will get incentives. The port will cap daily dockage fees at $8,641 for ships longer than 345 meters (1,132 feet). Without the change, the largest vessels would pay more than $11,000 a day in dockage fees. Ships that qualify under the port's Green Ship Award Program may earn up to $6,000 more in incentives. Ocean carriers also will save on rail cargo costs under a program that will give them a $10 incentive for every additional container they move via rail through Long Beach between Aug. 1, 2012, and July 31, 2013, compared to the previous one-year period.

Virginia International Terminals said it implemented new terminal operating software at the Port of Richmond that provides real-time data via iPad on cargo to the terminal operator and customer. The software, called Navis SPARCS N4, unites the terminal's entire operating system in a single format, providing data on truck and barge moves in real-time to users, it said.

The current expansion will double the Panama Canal's capacity, and the "resulting economy of scale advantage for larger ships will likely change the logistics chains for both U.S. imports and exports," said Robert Pietrowsky, director of the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Institute for Water Resources, in a report to Congress June 20 on "U.S. Port and Inland Waterways Modernization: Preparing for Post-Panamax Vessels."

The San Diego Board of Port Commissioners approved $6.2 million in projects June 20 to be funded as part of the Capital Improvement Program, including: Demolition design for the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal: $500,000. The improvements alone are projected to eventually cost $6.2 million. Modernization of the Crosby Street Pier and relocation of staff at the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal: $2.55 million. $1 million for design work for the Chula Vista Bayfront Master Plan.

The Port of Oakland received a $15 million TIGER grant from the Department of Transportation to help fund the Outer Harbor Intermodal Terminal (OHIT) Rail Access project, it said. The money will help pay to improve rail access to and from the Port and expand the Port's rail capacity, while providing rail access for the proposed Oakland Army Base development. Port officials said the grant also will help preserve $242 million in state funding for the project. The $15 million is from the fourth round of the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program (FY2012). There was $500 million available in this round of the TIGER grants nationwide. This is the second TIGER grant secured by the Port of Oakland. The federal funding will be matched more than one-to-one to launch the first phase of the Outer Harbor Intermodal Terminal (OHIT) Rail Access project, which is part of the joint City-Port OAB redevelopment plan, officials said.

Hewlett Packard's Autonomy said Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) of South Africa selected its Connected Backup intelligent mobile backup solution to protect information across the group. Connected Backup will enable intelligent, automated and secure backup for more than 1,800 laptops and desktops across all eight of its port sites, it said.

U.S. seaports and their private-sector partners plan to invest $46 billion over the next five years in capital improvements to their marine operations and other port properties, said a recent survey initiated by the American Association of Port Authorities. Meanwhile, it said the intermodal links such as roads, bridges, tunnels and federal navigation channels to access the ports get scant attention by state and federal agencies, resulting in traffic bottlenecks. AAPA said it continues to advocate for a national freight infrastructure strategy and for the U.S. Congress to quickly pass a reauthorized multi-year transportation bill that targets federal dollars toward economically strategic freight transportation infrastructure of national and regional significance. Planned capital investments by ports for the 2012-2016 period, by region, include: North Atlantic, $3.3 billion. South Atlantic, $4.3 billion. Gulf, $22.1 billion. Great Lakes, $360 million. North Pacific, $7.7 billion.

The South Carolina Ports Authority board approved what it called the most aggressive investment plan in the agency's 70-year history June 18, it said. It said the plan is based on the anticipated growth of South Carolina's ports from big ship traffic, the expansion of the Panama Canal and increased exports from the region. The board approved a budget for the 2013 fiscal year, which begins July 1, that includes $146.9 million in capital spending on major investments such as the construction of the new Navy Base Terminal and upgrades to facility infrastructure and information systems. The budget anticipates an eight percent increase in container volume and a six percent planned increase in breakbulk and non-containerized cargo at South Carolina's public seaports. It calls for the addition of nine jobs in the operations and maintenance areas during the next 12 months. May's container volume of 132,498 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) was a nearly 10 percent gain over the same month last year, the board was told. In the 2012 fiscal year to date (from July 2011 to May 2012), TEU volume in the Port of Charleston was up 3.4 percent from the previous year while pier tons of non-containerized cargo in Charleston and Georgetown climbed 43.1 percent. The SCPA board also approved a $2 million paving and container yard improvement project for North Charleston Terminal, to be completed by Banks Construction Co. It also approved a resolution authorizing the SCPA, as Grantee, to apply to reorganize Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) No. 21 under an alternative site framework. This reorganization would increase the FTZ service area along the coast and broaden the benefits to both new and existing companies using the program. The SCPA serves as Grantee of the FTZ program for FTZ No. 21 along the South Carolina coast and FTZ No. 38 in the Upstate.

The American Association of Port Authorities will recognize 22 seaports for exemplary communications projects and programs at its annual convention Oct. 21-25 in Mobile, Ala., it said. The list is (here).

The Port of Virginia handled 12.6% more cargo in May than a year ago, growing to 178,584 TEUs. The breakbulk tonnage total was 25,161, up 59 percent over last May, it said. Total rail containers handled in May were 33,221, up 21.6%.