The Port of San Francisco will host the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) 2013 Cruise Seminar on April 24-26 as part of the port’s 150th anniversary.
Photo by Joel Williams
By Patrick Burnson
Published: April, 2013
The Port of San Francisco will host the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) 2013 Cruise Seminar on April 24-26 as part of the port’s 150th anniversary.
The event will kick off with a candid look inside the cruise industry from the perspective of four key cruise line executives and end with a tour of the Port of San Francisco to see the impact of the America’s Cup on port operations. In between these bookend sessions, seminar participants will be treated to a host of presentations ranging from new international regulations on ship air emissions to itinerary planning, cruise facility design, financing and joint-use terminal opportunities.
The two-and-a-half-day program—much of which will be held in the port’s historic Ferry Building—will feature discussions with cruise line industry leaders and port executives from throughout the Western Hemisphere, including the United States, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean.
"The cruise industry continues to show remarkable resiliency in the face of tough economic times. Programs like ours help make that trend possible by giving industry leaders opportunities to share their valuable experiences and best practices," said Susan Monteverde, AAPA’s government relations vice president and liaison to the association’s Cruise Committee.
Among the varied session titles in this year’s Cruise Seminar agenda are: "The State of the Cruise Industry," "Regional Cruising and Tourism," "Shore Power" and "Cruise Facility Design, Processing, Safety and Security."
Port of Oakland Hires Two Executives
The Oakland Board of Port Commissioners approved two strategic hires last month following nationwide executive searches. The board approved the hiring of Amy Tharpe to the position of Social Responsibility Division (SRD) director and Ron Puccinelli to the position of chief technology officer (CTO). Tharpe and Puccinelli officially start their positions with the Port of Oakland at the beginning of April.
As the port’s SRD director, Tharpe will partner with community and businesses to promote positive social and economic changes, and develop a social responsibility strategy that will add value to the port’s business development activities and to the communities in Oakland and throughout the region.
Prior to being hired by the port, Tharpe managed San Francisco’s HOPE SF Initiative. In this role, she served as the city lead on programmatic aspects, which included real estate development strategies, policy development, human capital/services program design, resource development, evaluation and communications.
As the port’s CTO, Puccinelli will provide leadership for the port’s IT division, focusing on the integration and performance of Oracle Enterprise resource planning, and technology solutions to support the port’s strategic plan priorities.
Prior to joining the port, Puccinelli was the director of information technology with the City of Concord for over a decade. Puccinelli played an integral role in transforming the IT department’s service delivery model resulting in higher internal client satisfaction, improved service levels and enhanced staff skill sets to align with the city’s long-term goals and objectives.
SSA Marine to Manage M-580 Service
The Port of Stockton has selected SSA Marine to manage the port’s terminal for the new M-580 Marine Highway Corridor service between the ports of Stockton and Oakland. The M-580 Marine Highway is scheduled to commence in early spring 2013.
SSA Marine will provide container-on-barge terminal services, including terminal management, marketing and logistical support. The port will provide management oversight as the prime contractor, including barge and towboat operations.
In February 2010, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced the award of a $30 million TIGER grant for the ports of Oakland, Stockton and West Sacramento to develop the infrastructure necessary to establish a container-on-barge service between the Central Valley and the San Francisco Bay area. The Port of Stockton received $13 million of the grant to support its purchase of two 140-ton mobile harbor cranes and to make the necessary improvements at the port to support the project. The port also purchased two dedicated barges, which were modified with cell guides to handle containers.
"We are very pleased to have selected SSA Marine to provide marine terminal management services for our Marine Highway program," said Port of Stockton Port Director Richard Aschieris. "SSA Marine has extensive national and international terminal operating experience."
The M-580 Marine Highway will offer an environmentally friendly, fuel-efficient and cost-competitive long-term logistics solution to transport containers between the ports of Oakland and Stockton. It will also help to reduce congestion along the I-580/I-5 corridors.
Studies have estimated that approximately 1,600 containers per day move between the two ports, causing I-580 to be one of the most congested highways in the state. Additionally, the M-580 will serve as an overweight corridor, offering cost savings to exporters by allowing them to load containers to full capacity, thereby reducing the number of containers required in a specific shipment.
