The coronavirus pandemic has affected our nation and the world in ways not seen in a century. This global crisis has disrupted every aspect of our social and economic lives. I read in a media report that worldwide, $1.5 Billion people are now sheltering in place or working remotely. My guess is that most of you reading this are in the “same boat” (pun intended). The maritime industry is not exempt from the impact of this virus. While container shipments have decreased, the maritime transportation and supporting logistics system is vital to the provision of food and medical supplies upon which everyone depends. We provide a critical lifeline to humanity and must take our role as a supply chain system as essential to our global and national health and recovery.
Author: Stas Margaronis
Northern California maritime professionals expedite imports during coronavirus emergency
A group of Northern California freight forwarders, customs brokers, stevedores and U.S. Customs officials are working together with truckers, longshore labor and Port of Oakland officials to expedite import containers reaching end users, especially those that contain medical supplies and other important products during the Coronavirus emergency.
This comes as Amazon announced it is prioritizing health and medically related shipments: “We are seeing increased online shopping, and as a result some products such as household staples and medical supplies are out of stock. With this in mind, we are temporarily prioritizing household staples, medical supplies, and other high-demand products coming into our fulfillment centers so that we can more quickly receive, restock, and deliver these products to customers,” according to an Amazon email published by Business Insider.
StormGeo and DNV GL sign MoU to accelerate maritime data sharing
Oslo, 18 March 2020: StormGeo and DNV GL announced today that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to drive digitalization and data standardization in the maritime industry.
In the MoU, both parties aim to strengthen the presence and integration of StormGeo’s fleet performance management and weather intelligence solutions on DNV GL’s independent data platform, Veracity. This will give StormGeo’s customers an enhanced service offering, helping them to further optimize the operations of their fleet. Veracity users will benefit from easy integration of StormGeo’s weather intelligence services that can be accessed on the Veracity Marketplace.
“We are very happy to deepen the partnership with DNV GL to make data sharing for our clients even easier,” says Thilo Dückert, StormGeo VP, Fleet Performance Management. “Today StormGeo offers an integrated solution to span navigation and voyage planning, weather routing and fleet performance management. We believe this partnership signals the industry that we intend to further enhance our service portfolio to help clients improve safety and fuel efficiency of their vessels.”
“With Veracity, we have built an independent network of industry relevant companies, where the members of the network can buy, combine, share and collaborate on data to optimize their operation – all while knowing their data is safe and secure throughout the process,” says Mikkel Skou, Director of Veracity at DNV GL. “StormGeo is an important supplier to many of Veracity’s customers and we have received interest from our clients for stronger integration with StormGeo in our platform products. We now look forward to closely examine how we can do this in a manner where both companies’ customers can gain from our united strengths.”
The MoU builds on an agreement from March 2019 when DNV GL and StormGeo announced that they would consolidate their fleet performance solutions under the StormGeo banner. The agreement combined DNV GL’s ECO Insight and Navigator Insight solutions with StormGeo’s FleetDSS and ship reporting solutions. StormGeo is now servicing a fleet of more than 12,000 vessels that receive route advisory, weather intelligence, navigation and planning, or fleet performance.
About Veracity by DNV GL
To facilitate frictionless connections between different industry players, domain experts and data scientists, Veracity by DNV GL has built a secure network facilitating exchange of datasets, APIs, applications and insights. Named after one the four Vs of Big Data: Volume, Velocity, Variety and Veracity – our network is designed to help companies unlock, qualify, combine and prepare data for analytics and benchmarking. We are not looking to own data, but to help our customers and other stakeholders in our industries leverage the ever-increasing amount of data they own.
For more than 150 years DNV GL has been a trusted expert and data manager in the analogue world, connecting yards, designers, owners, operators, contractors and authorities. Now the company is fulfilling this same role in the digital domain with Veracity by DNV GL.
About DNV GL
Driven by our purpose of safeguarding life, property and the environment, DNV GL enables organizations to advance the safety and sustainability of their business. We provide classification, technical assurance, software and independent expert advisory services to the maritime, oil & gas and energy industries. We also provide certification services to customers across a wide range of industries. Operating in more than 100 countries, our professionals are dedicated to helping our customers make the world safer, smarter and greener.
About DNV GL – Maritime
DNV GL is the world’s leading classification society and a recognized advisor for the maritime industry. We enhance safety, quality, energy efficiency and environmental performance of the global shipping industry – across all vessel types and offshore structures. We invest heavily in research and development to find solutions, together with the industry, that address strategic, operational or regulatory challenges. For more information visit: www.dnvgl.com/maritime
About StormGeo
StormGeo is a global provider of weather intelligence and decision support services, with leading solutions for shipping, oil and gas, renewable energy, utilities, cross industry and aviation. More than 12,000 ships rely on StormGeo software or services for navigational planning, route optimization, weather and fleet performance. The company has 24 offices in 15 countries, including eight 24/7/365 global operations centers. As a participant in the UN Global Compact for Sustainable Ocean Business, StormGeo’s passion for weather and the protection of natural resources motivates us to support our clients to make informed, environmentally responsible business decisions. For more information, visit www.stormgeo.com
Media contact DNV GL:
Nikos Späth, Head of Media and Public Relations
DNV GL Maritime Communications
Phone: +49 40 36149-4856
Email: ni**********@***gl.com
Media contact Veracity by DNV GL:
Gabriela Stojicevic, Head of Communications
Veracity by DNV GL
Phone: +47 4003 9672
Email: ga*****************@***gl.com
Media contact StormGeo:
Cynthia Harris
Chief Marketing Officer, StormGeo
Phone: +47 902 37 277
Email: cy************@******eo.com
PCNC Welcomes US Army Corps’ LTC John Cunningham – April 7
Unfortunately, the Coronavirus has forced us to postpone our April lunch featuring USACE’s John Cunningham.
Topic: Dredging Projects Status: S.F. Bay 2020
Date And Time
Tue, April 7, 2020
11:30 AM – 1:30 PM PDT
Location
Scott’s Seafood Grill & Bar
2 Broadway
Oakland, CA 94607
PMA and ILWU Pledge Joint Effort to Win Back Lost Market Share from East and Gulf Coast Ports
In an unusual display of unity, Willie Adams, president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and Jim McKenna, president of the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) pledged to work together to help U.S. West Coast ports regain lost market share from rival ports on the East and Gulf Coasts.
Both leaders agreed that it was vital to lobby the two West Coast rail providers, the Union Pacific and the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe, to reduce the rates they charge for transporting containers to and from the West Coast ports.
Speaking before the Propeller Club of Northern California at Oakland, Willie Adams said the West Coast ports “need to make sure our voices are heard in Washington, DC… our competitors on the East and Gulf Coasts are being heard and it is costing us.”
PCNC Welcomes ILWU’s Willie Adams & PMA’s Jim McKenna – February 4
ILWU President Willie Adams and PMA President Jim McKenna jointly addressed the Propeller Club of Northern California on February 4th pledging to work more closely together to improve the competitiveness of California ports with rival ports on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. The two leaders also pledged to support efforts to block the Oakland A’s ballpark and condominium complex at the Port of Oakland’s Howard Terminal.
California Conference Sounds Alarm about Sea Level Rise, Storms
Speaker at Propeller Club meeting says over 600,000 of the state’s residents will be exposed to flooding at the end of the century.
Speakers at a “Storms, Flooding and Sea Level Defense Conference” in Oakland, California, warned attendees about myriad dangers to coastal and inland residents in coming years from rising sea levels.
Sponsored by the Propeller Club of Northern California, the event featured about three dozen speakers, including representatives from seven of California’s ports, and had more than 150 attendees. Several speakers came from the Netherlands to speak about their efforts to address the issue.
California ports support sea level defense
The majority of California ports came together on December 3rd to announce their plans for improved defense against sea level rise recognizing that climate change poses a serious threat to U.S. ports and coastal communities.
The “Storms, Flooding and Sea Level Defense” conference was coordinated by the Propeller Club of Northern California and took place at Scott’s Seafood in Oakland, California.
Port Presentation Hightlights:
PCNC Welcomes US Customs Steve Baxter – November 5
U.S. Customs San Francisco Deputy Port Director Steve Baxter briefed PCNC lunch attendees on recent operational developments at Bay Area ports and airports on November 5th.
Attendees included guests of the Ports of Oakland, San Francisco, PCC Logistics and CBFANC.
Oakland A’s Kaval offers partnership but PMSA & ILWU are skeptical
Dave Kaval, president of the Oakland Athletics, wants a “partnership” with the Port of Oakland maritime industry so as to build the new A’s ballpark and “preserve and protect jobs on the waterfront.”
Speaking to the Harbor Safety Committee of the San Francisco Bay on August 8th, Kaval said that the A’s have pledged to:
STORMS, FLOODING & SEA LEVEL DEFENSE CONFERENCE – DEC 3 – SAVE THE DATE!
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2019
SCOTT’S SEAFOOD, JACK LONDON SQUARE, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA
JOIN THE PORTS OF SAN FRANCISCO, OAKLAND, LONG BEACH, LOS ANGELES, SAN DIEGO, REDWOOD CITY, PORT OF HUENEME & PROPELLER CLUB OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
CONFERENCE AGENDA (view and download PDF)
PRESENTER BIOS (view and download PDF)
REPORTS & ARTICLES:
Sea Level Rise Could Threaten California Cities and Ports by 2040
A new U.S. report, using advanced analytic software, says waves and storm surges are gaining momentum from sea level rise and collectively pose a more immediate threat than was previously believed. The result could be serious damage to California coastal cities and ports by 2040. Read entire article
Sea Level Rise Could Cost U.S. Ports Between $57 Billion To $78 Billion In Upgrades
A University of Rhode Island team has concluded that the top 100 US ports may need to invest between $57 billion to $78 billion to accommodate a two-meter increase in sea level rise and recent surveys indicate that some U.S. port designers are beginning to incorporate sea level rise into their planning process. Read entire article.
Dutch Storm Surge Expertise Helps Louisiana, Texas, New York and New Jersey
The $165 million Seabrook Floodgate Complex, completed in 2012, protects New Orleans by reducing storm surge entering from Lake Pontchartrain. (Photo: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers). Read entire article
US Ag Exports Undermined by 2019 Flooding and Inland Waterway Closures
Catastrophic flooding in 2019 is slowing or stopping barge traffic along the Mississippi, Missouri and Arkansas rivers and adversely impacting farmers and exports. Read entire article
Fill out the REGISTRATION FORM first then purchase your tickets.
GOLD SPONSORS:
SILVER SPONSORS:
PCNC Welcomes USCG’s Captain Marie Byrd – Sep 10
On September 10th, USCG’s Captain Marie Byrd told PCNC that the Bay Area is a vital source for petroleum and agricultural goods and that these resources could be at risk from an earthquake or other catastrophic event. USCG is working with Northern California Ports, the Harbor Safety Committee as well as the Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) to support preparedness.
US Coast Guard’s Byrd urges emergency preparedness citing bridges & refineries: by Stas Margaronis
U.S. Coast Guard Captain Marie Byrd told attendees at the Propeller Club of Northern California on September 10th that vulnerabilities of bridges and refineries continue to be a focus of emergency response plans seeking to protect the Marine Transportation System (MTS).
Byrd said emergency response exercises focusing on the San Francisco Bay Area Port Recovery Plan will be part of the annual Fleet Week San Francisco activities taking place between October 6-14, 2019.
