In her State of the Port of Oakland speech, Port of Oakland Executive Director Kristi McKenney said her top priority in 2026 is negotiating new lease agreements with the Port’s three largest terminals.

The three terminals are Oakland International Container Terminal, TraPac, and Everport: “We have three primary terminal operators. And right now, my number one priority is working in partnership with those terminal operators to get three new long-term leases in Oakland. So, that’s going to be the focus. As this year comes to a close, we’re going to have new leases with these terminal operators that bring massive investments to Oakland.”

New Cranes at TraPac

McKenney explained: “We already have investments coming to Oakland. Pretty soon, you’re going to see two new 440-foot cranes, raised above the TraPac terminal. I am very excited to see that, and these are the first European-built cranes on the West Coast. A few months from now, two more cranes are going to come and be erected.”

In January, the Port of Oakland welcomed two new container cranes at its TraPac terminal, marking the first time European-built ship-to-shore cranes have been deployed on the US West Coast. The new Liebherr cranes, “manufactured in Ireland, will make that work faster and more energy-efficient, helping the Port operate more smoothly while reducing environmental impacts. Once operational, the cranes will stand more than 440 feet tall—about the height of a 40-to-45-story building—allowing TraPac to handle today’s largest container ships more efficiently by improving reach and enabling containers to be moved more smoothly and consistently, helping reduce time at berth. The cranes are fully electric, which helps reduce reliance on fossil fuels and supports the Port of Oakland’s ongoing efforts to cut emissions while modernizing its infrastructure,” according to a Port announcement.

“These new cranes represent an important investment in the future of the terminal,” said Cameron Thorpe, CEO of TraPac. “They improve efficiency today while helping move the Port toward a greener future.”

“We are very excited, and this is part of the Port’s broader modernization efforts,” said Bryan Brandes, Maritime Director at the Port of Oakland. “We’re focused on making improvements that support reliable operations and long-term environmental goals.”

Meanwhile, McKenney said a new crane will be arriving and will be erected at the Oakland International Container Terminal operated by Stevedoring Services of America (SSA): “In the coming year, we’ll be able to also welcome SSA’s new crane, and that comes on top of cranes that they brought in a few years ago.”

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Road Dog Trucking Interview with Stas Margaronis of AJOT Re: “Soy Beans and Ports of Long Beach and Portland”

December 22, 2025

Jennifer A. Carpenter, President & CEO of the American Waterways Operators (AWO), representing the U.S. inland and coastal tugboat industry is also the President of the American Maritime Partnership.

In a video interview with AJOT, Carpenter addressed the following:

*This year’s low water levels on the Mississippi and the long-term challenges for the tug and barge industry.

* Challenges for Congress funding the rebuilding of locks and dams on the inland waterways is on-going. She praised the advocacy work of Waterways Council Inc in support of modernization.

* On the question, of continued support for the Jones Act amid criticism that it should be abolished, Carpenter argued: “Jones Act critics spill a lot of ink and make a lot of noise, but they don’t put America first – they have other priorities, like libertarian trade theology unsupported by American voters, and business interests not shared by the American workforce. Alarmingly, some libertarian dogmatists are alleged to have outright colluded with the European Union in a coordinated effort to undermine the Jones Act.”

* The Trump administration’s cancellation of offshore wind projects in 2025, resulted in project cutbacks at Atlantic and Pacific coast ports.  In California, ports at Long Beach and Humboldt Bay were projecting to contract for 10,000 new jobs that are now cancelled including for tug and barge work.  Carpenter said businesses need certainty if they are going to move forward with new investments and that prospect is not evident in offshore wind.

*Carpenter discussed the continued challenges women face in the U.S. maritime industry and progress the industry is making.

* Carpenter expressed the hope that the Ships for America Act, which would supports construction and acquisition of over 250 U.S. flag vessels, will eventually be enacted by Congress — in some form.

* Carpenter praised the work that U.S. shipbuilders are doing constructing vessels for the Jones Act fleet and for international trade.

* Carpenter discussed continuing efforts to recruit young people to work in the maritime industry.

November 30, 2025

The inland Port of Lyon, France, will be receiving a €40M upgrade from Marseilles-based CMA/CGM to improve container-on-barge service, according to Jean-Christian Vialelles, Principal at JCV Management and President of the Propeller Club of Lyon.

The funding will go to improve container terminal operations as well as container moves to rail transport, he said.

n an interview with AJOT, Vialelles said the upcoming International Propeller Club convention taking place in Lyon from October 13-15th, 2025, will showcase the importance of container on barge commerce in partnership with the Port of Marseille. The Rhône River links the two ports.

Inland port operators and stakeholders in the United States, including those on the Mississippi River and its tributaries, will see many parallels with Port of Lyon operations.

Port of Marseilles

A keynote speaker at the International Propeller Club convention will be Christophe Castaner, Chairman of the Port of Marseille, who will discuss the importance of Marseille as a Mediterranean-based port and Lyon’s importance as an inland Marseille port partner.

The transit time between Lyon and Marseille is about 33 hours by water.

The Rhône River has been engineered with dams and locks over a total distance of 310km from its confluence with the Saône at Lyons-La Mulatière to Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône. From there, the Mediterranean is reached through a short canal, the Canal Maritime Saint-Louis, according to French Waterways.Com which also points out:

• The vast program of works begun by the Compagnie Nationale du Rhône (CNR) in 1933 was completed in 1980. Navigation alternates between wide deep river sections and 11 diversion canals.
• At Lyon, the Rhône is joined by the Saône, which connects it with all the waterways of central and eastern France. Upstream of the confluence the Upper Rhône has also now been partly developed by the CNR.
• The Rhone River’s power is harnessed at each dam to produce hydroelectricity; the valley also has nuclear power plants and wind farms. Navigation thus alternates between the bed of the Rhône, 300 to 500m wide, in which short steep waves may be generated by southerly winds, and 11 diversion canals, in which the locks are generally located towards the downstream end. The Mistral (northerly wind) can make lock entry difficult from upstream. The current does not exceed 7 km/h, but when combined with the effect of the Mistral, it can make progress upstream laborious for low-powered boats.

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Shipping companies will need to collaborate to support decarbonization if the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization (IMO) votes to implement zero-emission rules at its October meeting, according to Sinem Ogis, the new Chair of the Propeller Club of Oslo (Norway).

In an interview with AJOT, Ogis related how she moved to Norway from the Netherlands where she had been working for the Dutch carrier Van Oord, a specialist in dredging and offshore wind installations.

This occurs at the same time as an impending October vote on IMO rules governing emission reduction by ships:

“So basically, right now, IMO is working on the global emission scheme to put pricing on the emissions. … But on the European side, the EU commission already moved forward with the emissions trading scheme. So, shipping has already pricing added like … carbon costs, carbon tax, when they call at EU ports.”

IMO decarbonization rules vote in October

Andrew Forrest, Executive Chairman of Australian mining company Fortescue, is urging the global maritime industry to support the IMO goals for zero emission shipping by 2050. The IMO goals will be voted on in October.

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