San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee appointed Elaine Forbes as the executive director of the Port of San Francisco last month.
New Executive Director of the Port of San Francisco, Elaine Forbes. Photo by Ted Kurihara
By Patrick Burnson
Published: November, 2016
San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee appointed Elaine Forbes as the executive director of the Port of San Francisco last month. Forbes has been interim director of the port since March 2016; prior to her appointment as interim director, she was the deputy director for finance and administration for the port.
While attracting more cargo to the port is not one of her key missions, it appears that she’ll place a high priority on infrastructure. “Elaine’s extensive leadership experience at the Port of San Francisco and her 15 years of invaluable experience serving our city’s residents makes her an outstanding candidate to serve the port, its diverse stakeholders and the 24 million people that come to our city’s waterfront annually,” said Lee.
According to Lee, that includes a long-term strategy to address seawall vulnerability and a rise in sea levels. The Port of San Francisco is responsible for the 7.5 miles of San Francisco waterfront adjacent to the San Francisco Bay and is the lease holder for nearly 600 tenants. The port oversees a broad range of maritime, commercial and public activities and is involved in a diverse range of business, including real estate property management, cargo and cruise shipping, ferries and excursion boats, ship repair, commercial fishing and harbor services. Its jurisdiction stretches along the waterfront from Hyde Street Pier on the north to India Basin on the south.
Port of Oakland Bond Ratings Upgraded
According to Port of Oakland spokespeople, intermediate lien revenue bonds have been upgraded by Fitch Ratings to A from A-. Fitch has also affirmed the A+ rating on the port’s senior lien revenue bonds. The rating outlook for both liens is stable.
Fitch issued its rating update last month. It said the ratings reflect diverse revenues from the port’s aviation, maritime and commercial real estate operations. It also stated that the port benefits from its sizeable enplanement base and maritime cargo operations within the large, economically diverse and wealthy San Francisco Bay Area. Fitch said the upgrade of the intermediate bonds also reflects the port’s progressive deleveraging and debt service coverage ratios having exceeded the rating agency’s base case expectations.
TraPac to Double Its Footprint in Oakland
In an earlier development, the port announced that TraPac has reached an agreement to nearly double its marine terminal size at the Port of Oakland. Wilmington, California-based TraPac said it plans to lease an additional 57 acres and two vessel berths on the port’s Outer Harbor.
The deal will greatly strengthen TraPac’s position as the second-largest terminal operator in Oakland. TraPac disclosed its plans at a meeting of Oakland’s Board of Port Commissioners last month, and the proposed 14-year lease agreement with the port became final when the board approved it at a meeting on October 27.
“This is a significant step forward for TraPac and the port,” said Port of Oakland Maritime Director John Driscoll. “TraPac gets room to expand its thriving business and the port gets to revitalize valuable property with a highly respected tenant.”
Marine terminals load and unload containerships in Oakland, and then release containerized imports to cargo owners. The terminals also accept exports for overseas shipment. TraPac handles 20 percent of the containerized cargo moving through the Port of Oakland. It manages two vessel berths and 66 acres of land. Under the new agreement, it would have four berths and 123 acres.
Much of the land would be used for cargo handling. That’s expected to be increasingly important as volume grows at the port. With more acreage, the terminal can implement new procedures to improve efficiency and get containers in and out of Oakland faster.
“Our business is growing and placing new demands on our operations,” said TraPac Oakland General Manager Mike Porte. “With this new agreement we can meet the demands and the service expectations of our customers.”
TraPac is one of the nation’s best-known terminal operators. It began Oakland operations in 1991, and manages other terminals in Los Angeles and Jacksonville, Florida. According to the port, TraPac will invest to upgrade and modernize the new terminal acreage under its control in Oakland. Among other things, TraPac plans to construct a new gate to give harbor truckers better access to the terminal.
“With this expansion, we’re demonstrating our long-term commitment to Oakland,” said Porte. “TraPac and the port share a common value—good customer service—so we see this partnership growing even stronger over time.”
Patrick Burnson is the Executive Editor of Logistics Management. (www.logisticsmgmt.com)
