Port of Tacoma’s Post

Transcript

I'm Graham Johnson from the Port of Tacoma. Here's what's happening on Pierce Counties working waterfront. We begin with a first of its kind project at a US port to detect invasive pests. Now, these new trees and shrubs are called Sentinel plants. They're on Portland near State Route 509, where many trucks pass by and just a short distance from container terminals managed by the Northwest Seaport Alliance, where container ships call from overseas. Scientists at Washington State University's Puyallup Research and Extension Center designed the Sentinel planting to attract invasive diseases and insects that might accidentally arrive by ship. Researchers will monitor the Sentinel plants for any sign of pests. It's like our early warning system. It's one way that we can monitor for the accidental arrival of something that could cause harm to our forests or agriculture. OR Industries and Natural resources. USDA Forest Service International Programs provided WSU with a grant to establish the program. There's new activity at the site of the future port Maritime Center. Workers are moving in to start environmental cleanup of the port property along the Foss Waterway. The port will build a new office building right beside Tacoma Public Schools Maritime 253 Skill Center students from across Pierce County will be able to attend. The Career and Technical Education Center to learn skills to prepare them for work in the trades or the maritime industry. This summer, students from the Puyallup Tribe of Indians toured the port with instructors from the Machinist Institute. They visited a container terminal and the Ports Maintenance Department, where they had the opportunity to try welding, explore container cranes and other equipment, and learn more about maritime careers, the port and the Northwest. Report Alliance hosted 5 college interns this summer. The interns worked in the operations, community relations, planning, and environmental departments. In addition to completing projects and learning new skills, interns visited cranes and hopped on a boat for a tour. This is beautiful. You get the water and you get the ships and you get the sounds and the seagulls. Other than being a really fantastic experience where I got to know all these amazing people and gain the skills that I'm going to need in my career. Whatever it is moving forward. I think that it was just a really fun time. Port internships are paid. They're posted in late February or early March for the following summer. The biggest ship yet to call at the Northwest Seaport Alliance is S Harbor, arrived at Husky Terminal on September 4th. The Alette Maersk can carry the equivalent of 16,520 foot containers. It's also the first dual fuel vessel capable of being powered by green methanol to visit. Gateway the ship has slightly more capacity than the Ever MAGI, which arrived in May. The port is wrapping up its most complex IT systems project in 15 years. The new Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP system has robust capability. Nearly fifty staff members contributed to the Next Gen. implementation project. Motion carries In September, port commissioners passed a resolution honoring National Hispanic Heritage Month. Calling on people to recognize the achievements of the Hispanic Latino community, Commissioners meet at least once a month at the Fabulous Center off Port of Tacoma Rd. The Port's annual budget study session will be October 31st. To get agendas by e-mail, you can subscribe to our monthly newsletter, Pierside, and we hope you'll follow the Port on social media. A Pierce County business is being honored for excellence in global trade at the annual Global Awards. World Trade Center Tacoma recognized Seatac Packaging, a company that produces a variety of products primarily for packaging food. Customers asked us, they knew that we had some sort of level of quality and innovation and manufacturing, and they wanted us to bring that to their product. World Trade Center Tacoma connects local businesses of all sizes to international markets and hosted the award ceremony at the Ports Administration Building. Finally, this month, a big turnout for Touch a Truck. More than 2000 people gathered on September 28th for the ports most popular family-friendly event. Kids got a chance to see up close the big equipment used at the Port Touch. A truck is held each year in the parking lot of the Ports Administration building. The young visitors also honked more than a few horns. Thanks for joining us from the Ports new Sentinel Plant Garden. We'll be back in November. With a new addition of Working Waterfront.