All Port of New York and New Jersey container terminals reopened at 7 a.m. Nov. 5, except the Red Hook terminal, which reopened at 8 a.m. See details (here). There were some limitations, for example, Maher Terminals told customers that it would not be receiving empty containers into its facilities Nov. 5 and it wasn't sure if it would be allowed to process trucks past 6 p.m. (here)

Port security, policies and technologies will get a full day of sessions at the massive Consumer Electronics Show Jan. 8-11 in Las Vegas, organizers announced. CES Government Conference portion of the show, Jan. 8-9 at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel, will include presentations by American Association of Port Authorities President Kurt Nagle, U.S. Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-Va.), ranking member of the Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and Procurement Reform, and Maria O'Connell, senior advisor to the Commissioner of CBP. Others will include Charlie Armstrong, assistant secretary for information management at the Department of Homeland Security, Christopher Lytle, executive director of the Port of Long Beach, and Virginia Secretary of Transportation Sean Connaughton. Topics will include management systems, tracking technologies, IT and physical security technologies, collection, storage and analytic tools for managing big data

Maritime-related air pollution related to the Port of Seattle has decreased as much as 40 percent, depending on the type, since 2005, according to the 2011 Puget Sound Maritime Air Emissions Inventory report, which updated a 2005 version. The inventory estimated greenhouse gases, diesel particulate matter and a number of other pollutants, such as sulfur dioxides and volatile organic compounds, the port authority said, focusing on pollutants related to ships, harbor vessels, cargo-handling equipment, rail, heavy-duty trucks and other fleet vehicles associated with maritime activities. It said much of the progress was due to voluntary investments of the maritime industry and government agencies in cleaner technology, cleaner fuels and more efficient systems of operation.

The Port of Oakland hired the Arnold & Porter law firm as independent outside counsel in the on-going investigation of alleged improper expenditures, said acting Executive Director Deborah Ale Flint. She said the firm is "working methodically, and as quickly as responsible and possible," through the issues." Flint said the port also recently refinanced some of its $1.3 billion in outstanding debt, saving it about $9 million a year from 2014 to 2020, "which will help us address increasing costs and over $850 million in unfunded liabilities and capital needs." The port is also negotiating with three of four port unions, and is in impasse proceedings with its largest union, SEIU Local 1021, she said.

The American Association of Port Authorities and the American Road & Transportation Builders Association will cooperate to increase awareness of the need to significantly boost federal investment in the nation’s ports and waterways infrastructure, they said after signing an agreement Oct. 24 during AAPA’s annual meeting in Mobile, Ala. Each group will participate in the other’s committee meetings and policy discussions, share technical best practices, exchange information through newsletters and reports, and jointly lobby Congress on pending legislation that impacts ports and waterways, they said. "Investing in freight-handling infrastructure is an essential, effective utilization of limited federal resources," said Kurt Nagle, president of AAPA. The ARTBA's new Ports & Waterways Council submitted written testimony in February 2012 to the House Ways and Means Subcommittees on Select Revenue Measures and Oversight calling for increased growth and investment in the nation’s Marine Transportation System. “With growing emphasis on the need to expand the nation’s freight system and calls to double the nation’s exports, the time is right for ARTBA and AAPA to ensure that one of the most vital links in America’s transportation network maintains a strong voice at the policy making table,” said Pierce Homer of Moffatt & Nichol, co-chair of ARTBA’s PWC.

The Department of Homeland Security has made progress in developing a strategy of “resilience,” or the ability of ports and other infrastructure to “resist, absorb, recover from, or adapt to adversity,” but still has a ways to go in implementing and streamlining its efforts, said the Government Accountability Office in a report issued Oct. 25. The report, entitled “Critical Infrastructure Protection: An Implementation Strategy Could Advance DHS’s Coordination of Resilience Efforts across Ports and Other Infrastructure,” follows a GAO investigation consisting of document reviews and interviews with DHS officials, including port visits, that was requested by three Congressmen.¹

The Port of Baltimore will officially open four new 40-story post-Panamax cranes for operation at the Port's Seagirt Terminal Oct. 30, two years before the Panama Canal widening is complete, it said. As the final step in the $105 million expansion at the Port of Baltimore, the fully operational cranes will allow the Port to be one of just two East Coast ports to begin receiving supersize container ships, it said.

Business growth and major progress on such projects as Charleston's harbor deepening and the inland port were cited in the State-of-the-Port Address by South Carolina Ports Authority CEO Jim Newsome. Newsome said the port had its strongest quarter (July-September) for container volume in four years, while non-container tonnage at both Charleston and Georgetown also has been on the rise. The industry trend with the biggest impact on Charleston, he said, is the development of very large container ships, those larger than 7,500 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of capacity. He said the Port of Charleston is already handling ships that size and larger. To support the expected surge of post-Panamax ship traffic, a post-45-foot deepening project is underway in Charleston, and Newsome said progress on that has been "remarkable." Newsome also highlighted the progress on the SCPA's inland port project with Norfolk Southern in Greer, S.C., and said SCPA is working with CSX on rail initiatives to boost the port's business.

The Suez Canal Container Terminal said it completed two successful navigational trials to test port access and turning basins for 15,500 TEU vessels. The trials included the "Eleonora Maersk" with a draft of 14.9 m, and the "Edith Maersk," a 397 meter vessel with a draft of 14.8 meters. "With these two successful trials, SCCT is now open for vessels with a LOA of 397 meters and beam 56.4 meters (22 containers)" said Jan Buijze, SCCT chief operations officer. An expansion project is currently under way to double SCCT's capacity to 5.4 million TEUs, officials said.

The quarter ended Sept. 30 was the strongest for Charleston container volume in four years, with 400,492 20-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) handled, up 13.3 percent over the same period last year, the South Carolina Ports Authority said. Volume for the calendar year to date in TEUs was up 9.4 percent, it said. For September, container volume in the Port of Charleston reached 131,686 TEUs, up 5.3 percent over a year ago. Breakbulk volume for the quarter was the highest in more than two decades, with 302,611 pier tons handled from July through September, it said.