The Port of Grays Harbor set a few vessel activity records in 2014 and also had a vessel depart for a new destination, officials said during the Port commissioners meeting on Tuesday.
The Port had posted strong numbers for 2014 in general, tracking 115 ships and 18 barges coming through the Port throughout the entire year, 31 vessels more than 2013. Those vessels loaded 2,211,875 metric tons of export cargo and 74,731 metric tons of import for a total of 2,286,606, slightly short of 2013 when the Port handled 2,384,242 metric tons, but still a strong showing.
“We had a phenomenal 2014 in terms of investing in our customers and developing those relationships, which led to international economics across our docks,” Deputy Executive Director Leonard Barnes said Tuesday. “We’re really proud of that as a staff.”
A ship left the Port en route to Peru on Dec. 27 with 1,419 metric tons of bulk liquid from Imperium.
“That’s the first time we’ve shipped there,” Barnes said.
Throughout the last several months of the year, Barnes had hinted that, despite a lull in activity during a smattering of months early in 2014, the Port was set to finish on a positive note.
The Port also saw an increase in deep-water vessels, with 115 coming through the Port in 2014 compared to 102 in 2013.
Combined totals aside, some individual companies shipping through the Port set records for their Grays Harbor operations.
AGP (Ag Processing Inc.), a cooperatively owned agribusiness buying, processing, marketing and transferring oilseeds, grains and related products, set a record in 2014 for its dry-bulk exports, moving some 1,612,261 tons, compared to 1,360,611 in 2013.
“They’ve had a great year there,” Barnes said.
Pasha Automotive, a company shipping automobiles overseas, with a larger operation exporting from California, also set a record for its Grays Harbor operations. All told, the company exported more than 118,000 vehicles in 2014, including 108,784 Chryslers, 6,319 from General Motors and 347 Tesla Motors vehicles. In 2013, Pasha loaded 92,790 vehicles.
Additionally, each company shipping through the Port met the minimum shipping tonage required by their respective contracts, another mark of success, Executive Director Gary Nelson said Tuesday.
The Port — and because the Port is a public entity, the community as well — is set to benefit the most from the accomplishments, but next in line benefitting from the success of 2014, coupled with success throughout his tenure, is Nelson, who received a 3 percent raise on Tuesday.
Following the raise, Nelson’s annual salary is $187,155 (or $15,596 per month).
“I am very pleased with the performance of Gary Nelson as our executive director, the direction he has taken the Port, the relationship he has built with our customers, the continued support and cooperation with staff, and the information he provides us in a timely manner for decision-making,” commission President Stan Pinnick said. “I’m very proud of the year we’ve had under Mr. Nelson’s leadership.”
Longshoremen
An increase in shipping traffic means an increase in hours worked on ships and docks. Putting in time and effort for the Port are longshoremen from the International Longshore &Warehouse Union (ILWU), laboring at an increasing rate throughout the years.
Despite a lull in 2011, the hours of longshoremen have consistently increased each year: In 2010, ILWU longshoremen put in 123,000 hours, an equivalent to 69 full-time employees; in 2011, that number dipped to 100,000 hours, but rebounded in 2012 to 159,000, or 88 full-time equivalent positions; from 2013 to 2014, ILWU longshoremen grew their time by about 36,000 hours, from 176,000 to 212,000 hours respectively. The 2014 numbers are equal to that of 118 full-time positions.
“We’re really proud, and we don’t give enough credit to those people that are doing the work out there on the ships and on the docks,” Barnes said. “It’s a huge impact on the community — they’re spending money in the community.”
The count for 2015 could fluctuate depending on labor negotiations currently underway between the ILWU and the Pacific Maritime Association, with any deterioration in negations possibly meaning a union strike. The local port isn’t a member of the Pacific Maritime Association and therefore does not participate in the negotiations, however, a union-wide strike by the ILWU would affect union members working at the Port.
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