All of the Northwest Seaport Alliance’s container terminals were fully operational Tuesday as the record-high temperatures break. Photo credit: Shutterstock.com.
The Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) of Seattle and Tacoma returned to full operation Tuesday after several container terminals were closed Monday due to record-breaking heat in the Pacific Northwest. Temperatures in Seattle hit a record 106 degrees Fahrenheit Monday, according to the National Weather Service.
Port and terminal managers said the one-day shutdown, done for worker safety reasons, has had no serious impact on cargo-handling at the NWSA. Seattle’s Terminal 18 (T-18), which handles most of the port’s container traffic, and the smaller Terminal 30 (T-30) were both closed Monday due to the excessive heat.
“You can’t expect them to work in this kind of heat,” Ed DeNike, president of SSA Containers, told JOC.com Monday. “We closed T-18.... It was a good decision. We’ll be open [Tuesday].” SSA also operates T-30.
In Tacoma, Washington United Terminal (WUT) ordered longshore work gangs for Monday, but sent them home because the air conditioner compressor failed at the facility’s control center, where marine clerks and other staff work, a port spokesman said.
Cargo-handling at WUT and Everport’s Pierce County Terminal was scheduled to resume on the 3 a.m. “hoot” shift Tuesday and continue for the full 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. day shift on Tuesday, the spokesman said. He added that the Husky Terminal in Tacoma did not close Monday, working with a full complement of longshoremen for gate, yard, and vessel operations.
Temperatures in the region Tuesday are forecast to top out in the high 80s, according to the National Weather Service.
Recent congestion woes
DeNike said T-18 was able to work the night shifts last weekend so the terminal did not fall behind in its cargo-handling operations. Containers that are booked to move by rail from T-18, and from BNSF Railway’s near-dock SIG yard, have backed up at those facilities in recent weeks due to a shortage of locomotives and intermodal rail cars, causing severe congestion at the terminal.
According to BNSF, the problem originates at its congested intermodal rail yard near Chicago, which is contending with record intermodal volumes and a chassis shortage. BNSF recently expanded its railcar storage capacity to relieve pressure on the Logistics Park Chicago hub, the railroad said.
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June 29, 2021 at 11:04PM
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US PNW resumes normal port operations after heat closure - JOC.com
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