August 21 - Everett Port and Westwood Shipping Lines are marking the tenth anniversary of weekly, direct aerospace shipments from Japan to Everett with the arrival of a new, large vessel.
On August 11, the port welcomed the Westwood Robson, a 209 m long container ship transporting aerospace parts and other general cargoes from Japan to Everett.
A decade ago the Port Commission invested more than USD50 million in infrastructure so as to allow for direct transportation of aerospace shipments to the Port of Everett. This investment included the installation of two 40-tonne capacity gantry cranes at the port's Pacific Terminal, the purchase of three 45-tonne reachstackers, the construction of the Mount Baker Terminal and the addition of a 50-tonne capacity rail mounted gantry crane. Prior to this investment, the ships had to unload in Seattle or Tacoma and the parts were barged on to Everett.
"These infrastructure investments allowed our region to successfully compete for the 787 and 777X airplane programs," Port of Everett ceo Les Reardanz said.
Now, ten years on, the industry is trending toward larger vessels and the Port of Everett is once again looking to upsize, working to meet the Port Commission's initiative to add berths greater than 300 m in length.
Moreover, the Port Commission has decided to accelerate implementation of the Marine Terminals Master Plan, formed in 2008, to enable the port's South Terminal to better accommodate larger vessels.
