Among the items in a world ports' roundup provided by the International Association of Ports and Harbors are:

The Seattle city council unanimously voted to oppose the transportation of coal through Seattle. The May 29 resolution cited negative impacts on the climate as well as regional impacts on human health and rail and freight traffic from the significant increase in coal trains that would run through Seattle. Four coal export projects in the northwest are under permit review that together could increase U.S. coal exports by 150 million tons annually. One, involving the Gateway Terminal at Cherry Point in Bellingham, WA, could increase coal train traffic in Seattle from the current average of one to nine coal trains daily, the council said. Six other Washington cities have officially expressed concerns about the proposed expansion of coal exports. The Oregon governor also has sought an environmental impact assessment of the exports (See ITT's Online Archives 12042702).

The Port of Long Beach harbor commissioners approved a port incentive program to improve air quality by attracting clean vessels. The Green Ship Award Program will pay operators as much as $6,000 per ship visit for bringing the vessels with the cleanest engines to Long Beach, it said. Vessels with main engines meeting Tier 2 or Tier 3 standards established by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will be eligible for incentives ranging from $2,500 to $6,000 per ship call. The program aims to reduce smog-causing nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions, which can affect respiratory health. Tier 2 engines reduce NOx emissions by 15 percent, and Tier 3 will reduce NOx by 80 percent.

The Port of San Diego's Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for FY 2014--2018 will be the subject of two upcoming meetings -- a public outreach meeting at 5:30 p.m. May 31 in the Port Authority building, and a board of commissioners workshop/special meeting at 8:30 a.m. June 7 at the Port Pavilion on Broadway Pier. Total spending in the last plan approached $100 million. The port authority has received proposals for 69 capital improvement projects. Some of the largest include $26 million for a land acquisition from the Navy and two separate gantry crane proposals totaling about $45 million.

The Port of Miami received a Florida Department of Environmental Protection permit allowing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to begin deepening of Port of Miami's channel to -50 feet, the port said. Bids will be sought this summer, with construction expected to start in early 2013, to be completed at the same time the expanded Panama Canal opens. Port Director Bill Johnson said the port will be one of only three U.S. Atlantic ports to be at -50 feet when the expanded Panama Canal opens, allowing it to accommodate new, larger Post-Panamax vessels that will be traversing the Canal. As the closest U.S. deep water port to Panama, PortMiami expects to benefit from new trade opportunities with Asian markets, it said.

APM Terminals is offering to operate all Port of Virginia facilities in Hampton Roads and related inland locations under a long-term concession agreement with the Virginia Port Authority (VPA), it said. It proposes to transfer ownership of its facility in Portsmouth to the state, and pay concession fees, make significant additional capital investments, and provide a share of the operations' revenue to the VPA. It said the value of the proposal to Virginia is between $3 billion and $4 billion. APM has operated in Hampton Roads for more than 30 years, and the $540 million it spent to build its Portsmouth facility was one of the largest private investments ever made in Virginia, said Eric Sisco, APM Terminals Americas Region president. The 50-page proposal was submitted under the guidelines of the Virginia Public-Private Transportation Act to Virginia's Office of Transportation Public-Private Partnerships, and will undergo a detailed review in the coming months.

The San Francisco Bar Pilots (SFBP) and Assemblyman Sandré Swanson said they decided to delay their legislative effort to establish rates to provide a second pilot to navigate the world’s largest container vessels into the Port of Oakland. Assemblyman Swanson’s AB-2287 would have provided a partial fee for a second pilot that would operate specialty positioning equipment. SFPB President Bruce Horton said: “When it became clear that the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association (PMSA) and other special interest groups did not share our commitment to safety by engaging in good faith negotiations to find a compromise, we decided that it would be best to continue to try and work with the stakeholders to find a solution.” SFPB said AB 2287 would have affected less than one percent of Bay shipping traffic (fewer than 10 vessels annually). But it said as the shipping industry continues to push for larger ships, the number could grow.

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners is switching to twice-monthly meetings, instead of three times per month, for a 90-day trial period beginning June 4, it said. The board will meet on the first and third Mondays of each month, with one meeting during the day and the other in the evening. The commissioners said the new schedule is designed to give commissioners and the public more time to review agenda items and increase public participation. "We believe in open and transparent meetings," said Harbor Commission Vice President Thomas Fields.

Ports in Louisiana have grown in net assets and net income over the last decade, even while employment in the state has been relatively stagnant, according to a report on the ports issued May 21 by the Ports Association of Louisiana. Net assets of the ports have grown by about $60 million per year from 2000 to 2010. Coastal ports grew almost 190 percent and inland ports more than doubled their total assets, according to the report by James Richardson of Louisiana State University. The deep draft ports had an increase in net assets of nearly 40 percent. For deep draft ports, the increase in net income was $1.3 million per year, and for inland ports $0.3 million, the report said. Overall, in recent years there has been a "surge" of port activity around the state, the report said. For example, the Port of South Louisiana in 2011 handled 273,991,603 short tons of cargo, its largest amount ever. It estimated that the ports directly spent just over $194 million in 2011. (For copy of the report email documents@brokerpower.com).

Container volume in the Port of Charleston rose nearly 8 percent last month over 2011 levels, the South Carolina Ports Authority board was told May 16. In April, the SCPA handled 123,439 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the Port of Charleston, the strongest April seen at the port since 2008 and a 7.7 percent increase from the same month last year. Containerized traffic in TEUs for the 10 months comprising the fiscal year to date (June through April) is up 2.7 percent from the same period last year while container volume for the calendar year to date (January through April) increased 7.3 percent over 2011 levels. In the Port of Georgetown, pier tons were fairly flat in April compared to the same month last year, but activity there has more than doubled in the fiscal year to date.