The Port of Seattle refuses to buy into this proposition, and they have worked hard to show that environmental activism and economic well-being are compatible and essential in prosperous and progressive communities everywhere. In the process, the Port’s leaders developed one of the cleanest and most energy efficient ports in North America, a green gateway with the lowest carbon footprint for goods traveling between Asia and the Midwest. The Port’s leaders also tried to harness the power of the market to help create a more sustainable world; hopefully, the Port encouraged their customers on both sides of the Pacific Ocean to implement environmentally sustainable practices throughout their business operations, too. But the most important lesson imparted is that America’s ports can generate legions of clean, green jobs at a time when the public is struggling with a painful and lingering downturn. Indeed, the Port of Seattle has supported more than 200,000 family-wage jobs, generated nearly USD18 billion in business revenues, delivered close to USD900 million in annual state and local tax revenues, and invested USD54 million to help small businesses at the same time that Seattle reduced emissions, removed contaminated sediment, restored shoreline, and created parks and wetlands. And port managers improved the Seattle region’s economic and environmental quality of life during one of the most challenging and deficit-ridden fiscal periods in recent memory. In fact, despite the persistent downturn, the Port of Seattle, in partnership with Seattle’s terminal operators, retrofitted and electrified nearly 200 pieces of cargo handling equipment to reduce noxious particulate matter by 25-50 percent.  Furthermore, the Port of Seattle set strict mandatory benchmarks for truck emissions that must be met starting in 2011, and also implemented a financial incentive program for truckers who need to retrofit their vehicles or upgrade to newer, cleaner models. As a result of this program, nearly 150 older and more polluting trucks have been scrapped since November, and the number of vehicles that are unfriendly to the environment is decreasing rapidly. In addition, the Port instituted a significant and far-reaching pilot program designed to replace ageing creosote-treated wood pilings with low-maintenance pilings made of recycled materials that resist corrosion and are impervious to marine borers. And Port managers are providing incentives for ships — cargo and cruise — to use cleaner fuels. The Port of Seattle’s leaders believe that this policy will lower diesel particulate emissions from container ships by 60 percent and sulfur dioxide by at least 80 percent. Seattle’s “At Berth Clean (ABC) Fuels Program” already reduced dangerous emissions by 68 metric tons last year. The Port of Seattle also provides clean shore power for cruise ships docked at Smith Cove Terminal, their newest cruise facility and can boast that it was the first U.S. port to plug in two cruise vessels at once in an effort to reduce emissions; today, 40 percent of all cruise ships in Seattle waters utilise Seattle’s shore power capability, making a significant contribution to cleaner skies while they are at berth. None of these sweeping environmental initiatives has gotten in the way of growth, despite the intense problems and increasing pressures that the badly battered economy presents. And, even in the midst of a severe economic crisis, the Port of Seattle has been able to make significant capital investments in local infrastructure and clean-air projects. Overall volume is down, but the port still managed to increase its export shipments by 6 percent in 2009. And this strong performance has reinforced a solid overall track record. In 2007, for example, the port moved approximately 22 million metric tons of cargo — including nearly USD40 billion in two-way trade with China, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan. This is encouraging news, especially in view of current efforts by the White House to stimulate job growth through the promotion of U.S. exports. The Port of Seattle’s 30-year trading relationship with China is particularly robust. Seattle’s trade with China has more than tripled over the past decade, and it now accounts for approximately 40 percent of Seattle’s total trading volume. More importantly, though, Seattle’s port leaders have begun the Dalian Eco-Partnership, a substantive agreement that Seattle believes will lead to a valuable exchange of information and best practices between China and Seattle. This trans-Pacific respect for the environment is one of the main reasons why Asian companies increasingly ship their goods to the Port of Seattle. These enterprises appreciate Seattle’s deeply held environmental commitment and they know that they can meet ever-increasing global sustainability standards by working together. Seattle is also the closest U.S. port to Asia, and that means less fuel burned — and fewer emissions released. A recent study showed, for instance, that when the Port of Seattle helps unload and transfer an 8,500-container ship’s cargo to rail transport on the Shanghai-to-Chicago route, carbon emissions are 41 percent lower. The emissions reduction is still significant — 31 percent — when a 12,500-container ship’s cargo is unloaded and transferred at the Port of Seattle in between Shanghai and Chicago. Looking at the bigger picture, the latest research also indicates that shipping cargo by sea and rail generates lower carbon emissions than cargo that travels exclusively on water to the same destinations. Demonstrating an economic and environmental edge is critical and could prove to be a financial game-changer as the Port of Seattle increasingly competes against foreign rivals like Canada, which is investing heavily in its British Columbia ports, Mexico, which is building a mega-port on its west coast, and Panama, which is widening the Panama Canal so larger ships can use ports on the country’s Gulf Coast and East Coast. With extended economic uncertainty forecast for the remainder of 2010, ports all across the U.S. must live up to their potential and become solid growth engines that help drive an improved standard of living in struggling communities from coast to coast.

Since 2004, the Government of Egypt has been focusing on implementing an ambitious economic reform programme, improving the investment environment, buttressing growth rates and providing further work opportunities. There is for instance an ambitious national road network (freeways and regional roads), thorough updating of rail networks, flourishing mass transit especially in provinces other than Cairo and Alexandria, huge investments in seaports and efforts to enable a wider role for river transport in enhancing inland waterway transport. Experts confirm that the Egyptian economy is strong and enjoys a hybrid of stable and balanced commitments with different countries. Speaking to reporters earlier this year at the set up of a new Egyptian-Japanese University, temporarily located at Borg El-Arab, Alexandria, the Japanese Ambassador to Egypt HE Mr Kaoru Ishikawa expressed Japan’s profound trust in the Egyptian market performance. He said that amid the global crisis, Egypt’s economy was growing generally even though national banks never took part in the speculations. In 2008, the trade balance between the two countries reached USD 3.7 billion – USD 2 billion accounts for Egyptian exports (mostly natural gas and oil products), whereas the remaining USD 1.7 billion represents imports from Japan (mainly cars). The trading volume reflects a 68 percent increase compared to 2007. From July 2007 to June 2008, Japanese investments in Egypt hit USD 45 million, far from the desired level, considering the potential of both states. However, positive relations have been developed between the Japanese side and the Egyptian ministries of Agriculture and Environment for the optimal use of natural resources. The Water Users Societies Project is now operative in several governorates and is proving successful in achieving optimal utilisation of The River Nile Water. In fact, relations with countries such as Japan help greatly in achieving the government’s investment objectives. Today, infrastructure and small-to-medium size projects are high on the agenda, as the government tends to apply more resourceful and multi-faceted development schemes. Funding sources at money exchange markets are also versatile. Investments are conducted through Egyptian enterprises (70 percent of exchange volume) with the remaining 30 percent being 50-50 between Arab and western countries. Other factors which contribute to establishing the base for a well-informed investment environment include effective infrastructure of roads, electricity, communications, ports and airports. The skilled labour force available at competitive costs, the political stability and the global trade agreements with different countries add considerably to the attractive mix. Still, other factors include diverse energy sources at competitive prices and the huge domestic market that serves as a gateway for several international markets in the Gulf Area, Europe and Northern Africa.

Maritime transport

The role played by maritime transport in enhancing the national economy is quite tangible. Several aspects are greatly influenced by sea transport such as crossing trade and the increase in sea trade movement over the past five years (at best-in-decades rates). This spurs the government to adopt a clear-cut port development strategy. The key objectives include:

Reducing exports costs

Enhancing private investments

Alleviating national economy burdens (less dependence on government subsidies)

Activating trade movement

Maximising state revenues

Relying on self-finance philosophy

Improving management techniques

Allowing shipping companies more access to ports

The last objective is particularly significant because anticipated growth rates for Egypt ports are actually higher than other Mediterranean ports. With almost more than L.E.18 billion investments, cargo handling is expected to witness a 63 percent increase over the next few years. Container handling flourished from 2.9 million TEU in 2004 to 5.1million TEU in 2008 and the target figure for 2010 is 8 million TEU.

Implementation clues
Generally, the Egyptian economy is recovering with mounting confidence in the economic performance, better competitiveness and efficient investments. Egypt has managed to weather the impacts of the global financial crisis thanks to the meticulous monetary measures taken. This led to keeping the growth trend and investment flow on while curbing the Public Deficit. In the wake of the crisis, economic weight centres began to tilt eastward, thus heralding a new era of oriental financial gravity. With the emergence of Shanghai and Mumbai as attractive global financial economic centres, it is becoming increasingly vital to employ investments in infrastructure necessary to accommodate oriental trade movement expected to converge from/to countries such as China, India, Malaysia and the Gulf States. Consequently, and according to the 5-year development plan (7/2008-11/2012 – 4th year stage), private investments need encouragement to increase their share in overall investments to L.E.163 billion, a 64 percent from overall investments. Proving effective, we find the tax reform scheme, which resulted in a 50 percent reduction in income tax rate. Customs reform that enforced a number of measures and reductions is an equally effective tool. The Government worked hard to activate a Government-Owned Assets Managing Programme and rehabilitate the financial sector. Enlarging the spectrum of the Free Trade Agreements Egypt is joining and the structuring of new frameworks for government-private sector partnership are key investment methods. We cannot ignore the role played by the government to offer low-priced plots of land for interested investors and the continuous endeavor to seek better settlement of disputes arising from investment contracts.

Economic growth rates
Economic development officials declared last March that for fiscal year 2010/2011 average per capita income should rise from 15.4 thousand per annum (current figure) to 17.4 thousand. It is also expected that growth rate will reach 5.2% by the end of this fiscal year ending June 30th and that a further increase of 5.8% and 6.5% will be achieved in the following two years respectively. The third quarter of the current fiscal year experienced a growth rate of 5.1%. Experts believe the forecasted economic growth rate is quite reasonably achievable but slightly ambitious considering the challenges of the economic reform plan the government of Egypt is facing in light of imminent parliament and presidential elections. Regarding the growth rate for different economic sectors in 2010/2011, statistics have shown that construction was first with 13.2% against 12.8% this year, followed by communications with 12%. Processing industries together with transport and communications featured prominently to lead other sectors towards national economic growth. However, the government intends to hold a budget deficit for the next fiscal year at 7.9%, reduce unemployment rate to 9% and provide some 700,000 jobs. Throughout 2010/2011, Egypt will be focusing on how to bring growth rates back to their high levels before the global financial crisis so that better social indicators and higher per capita living standard can be attained. It is worth noting that aggregate investments planned for 2010/2011 are nearly L.E.256 billion (19 percent higher than previous fiscal year) and the target for 2011/2012 is L.E.327 billion.

Investment projects
Early this year, President Mubarak gave the green light to feasibility studies on the construction of a tunnel to link the two sides of the Suez Canal in Port Said at a cost of USD 1 billion. In the same context, the Egyptian president agreed to a request by Chambers of Commerce Federation President to increase East Port Said port space to 57sqkm (current space is 35sqkm) and establish an independent authority to start relevant development schemes. In collaboration with Arab Academy’s Maritime Research & Consultations Center (MRC
C), French consulting firm Arcadis will prepare tender documents pertinent to the dredging of a new by-passage for the Suez Canal adjacent to Port Said East Port on the Mediterranean. The new passage dredging works should be completed during the first half of the current year at an estimated cost of L.E. 450 million. The lateral canal is 9km long and will be dredged up to 18.5m under sea level. The two projects fall within the range of Port Said East Port (PSEP) development scheme with a view to turn the port into a key regional hub for transit trade. Today, East Port Said port, a uniquely positioned port, is one of the four largest Mediterranean ports. Very shortly and as anticipated, it will move upward to second place regionally with a 101 percent growth rate in container handling. Additionally, PSEP serves the largest hinterland in Africa and the Middle East. Coming atop of world ports in terms of growth rates, ports revenues scored 144 percent increase in two years. Today, the port is capable of attracting non-governmental investments worth L.E.5.5 billion.

Logistic investments
Transport officials view the logistic activity as a ripe area for development. In Port Said, efforts are being made to complete East Port Said Port industrial area by the end of this year. In addition, 150 investors are bidding to execute the first stage project. The petroleum jetty and liquefied bulk terminal are planned for construction on an area of 500,000sqm, costing an estimated USD 500 million. A thousand investors have submitted requests to start several projects in the recently expanded industrial area south Port Said.

Alexandria Ports
Alexandria and Dekheila ports handle 60 percent of Egypt’s foreign trade. Together they achieved a massive customs yield amounting to L.E.10.5 billion. In 2008, port revenues reached L.E.600 million, a hundred million pounds more than the previous year. There are also plans to increase capacity in Dekheila from 26m tonnes to 40m tonnes per annum. In 2011, a new container berth project will be launched at an investment cost of USD 300 million. Furthermore, a multi-purpose basin project will be put out to tender soon.

DIPCO debts restructuring
The International Company for Ports and Warehousing (KGL) launched 159 million new shares for private subscription in a bid to leverage company capital by Dinar 15 million to finance its DIPCO project in Damietta Port and restructure some debts. KGL Chairman Fadel El-Baghly told reporters in a press conference that the move, which will serve in lifting available capital from Dinar 12 million to 27, coincides with positive expectations that port works will grow as regional and global trade exchange starts to rebound. In another development, DIPCO acquired the remaining area dedicated for its project in Damietta Port. Air Defense Forces evacuated the site, and handed it over to DIPCO as per the concession agreement signed with Damietta Port Authority (DPA) in 2005. The Company is seeking possible ways to obtain a USD 480 million worth aggregate loan. In addition, it is doing its utmost to overcome problems and compensate project delay in light of the global financial situation. Commercial operations of the first phase of the project could start in the 4th quarter of 2010 with the arrival of Super Post Panamax container cranes and handling 2/3 of the overall project capacity. At completion of the second construction phase, the anticipated annual container throughput could reach 4 million TEU. DIPCO shareholders negotiated new easier funding terms with the lending banks. The project was supposed to start operations by the end of 2010.Classified as a powerful addition to the existing container terminal, the new project is planned to comprise 2.3km long berths. As agreed with DIPCO the terminal was awarded a concession for 40 years [+/- 5 years] based on the achieved annual container throughput.

ITAL MID initiative
Earlier this year, Italian shipping line “Messina” expressed willingness to arrange a line service between Damietta and Italian ports. Further discussions with the Italian side resulted in a co-operation agreement whereby the Italian logistics company “Logica” will prepare a master plan for the creation of a dedicated logistic site in Damietta Port based on the model implemented by Messina in Italian ports.

Private investments in river transport
The Egyptian Transport Ministry is investigating a number of procedures to encourage more active participation by the private sector in river transport services. The aim is to invigorate private services for river transport within 5 years from 2 percent up to 10 percent totaling 40 million tonnes. The government has so far spent L.E.800 million to improve infrastructure projects and rehabilitate river navigation. Now dredging works are completed and navigational aids provided for the river passages Cairo-Aswan, Damietta and Alexandria. In addition, a number of locks were added to complete the river transport system. Thus, the shipping network is ready to carry goods directly from Damietta and Alexandria to Upper Egypt as a prelude to implement the entire Nile logistic chain down to the rest of Africa.

This is a serious matter for a business which is characterised by tight time schedules and complex logistics chains, where delays often have a direct impact – not only on financial results and reputations but also on the entire transportation network which brings goods from the point of production to the point of sale. Hence, more efficient cargo handling is indeed worth striving for.
‘Boxes in boxes’ concept
Det Norske Veritas (DNV) has designed a lightweight, open-top frame structure, capable of carrying up to eight containers, which can be loaded on the quay and lifted on-board in one move. This will save valuable time in port, something which is of utmost importance to shipping companies as well as shippers and terminals. Additionally, this ‘boxes in boxes’ concept can reduce the need for container lashing and increase cargo safety. This proposed concept, which reduces the number of crane lifts and the need for lashing, could be a significant step towards efficient cargo handling. While waiting for the ship to arrive in port, the containers are loaded into an open-frame structure which is equipped with built-in stacking cones and cell guides. The loaded frame is then lifted on board onto two adjacent container stacks, to which it is secured by means of twistlocks. In addition to reducing the number of crane lifts, this has the benefit of locking two stacks together so that the deck reaction loads – and consequently the lashing requirements – are significantly reduced. A frame dimensioned for empty containers would only weigh approximately three tonnes. The decision to design it for empty containers was based on several considerations. Firstly, lifting up to eight loaded containers would be beyond the capacity of today’s cranes. Secondly, reinforcing the frame for the carriage of loaded containers would lead to increases in size and weight. Lastly, on many trades a large number of the carried containers are empty on parts of the loop. These empty containers are typically stowed in the top tiers, which corresponds well with the proposed use of the frame. Because the frame has an open top, once it is on-board, single containers can be unloaded just as easily as from an ordinary stack. Similarly, single containers can be loaded from the quay into a partially filled frame. This means that the improved efficiency can be obtained without sacrificing cargo handling flexibility. The only additional planning involved to allow for the use of frames is the planning of the pairs of stacks on top of which the frames are to be stowed. The stacks in each pair have to be of equal height, meaning that care must be taken to ensure an equal number of high cubes in those particular stacks. However, should unforeseen circumstances make this impossible the containers that were planned to be stowed in a frame can be lifted on-board individually. The empty frame left on the quay can be folded for convenient storage. Another advantage of the concept is that it does not require any modifications to terminal facilities, lashing equipment or the existing fleet; it can be lifted by existing cranes, secured by means of ordinary twistlocks and carried on any container vessel. This is an important feature of any innovative measure aimed at improving container handling efficiency. Container transportation was introduced more than half a century ago, and the highly standardised infrastructure which supports it is truly enormous and thus very costly to replace.
Considerations
Apart from the ‘boxes in boxes’ concept, a number of other measures were evaluated in terms of efficiency and safety gains as well as cost, reliability and technical feasibility. Some of these were aimed at reducing the amount of lashing. One such method was transverse container stowage; however, it was found that the amount of transverse lashing would not be dramatically reduced and some additional longitudinal lashing might be necessary. Other possible methods included constant-tension wire lashing, electro-magnetic container securing and cell guides on deck. These were abandoned mainly because they involve the introduction of new components which would require maintenance and which could cause delays if they failed. Lastly, various ways of improving cargo loading efficiency were proposed and investigated. One of the most promising ones was the side-loading of holds, which would allow the simultaneous loading of decks and holds. However, such a concept would most likely require some form of on-board cargo handling system to carry each container to its slot. Since it would be impossible to access the containers below deck by means of shore cranes, failures in the on-board system would inevitably cause delays. The conclusion was thus that the benefits would come at a higher cost, in terms of possible adverse consequences, compared to the ‘boxes in boxes’ concept.

Back in 1878 the channel was deepened to 20 feet, and in the 60’s it was dredged even deeper to 40ft. But as ships became larger in order to carry more cargo in the late 1980s, trade with the rest of the world forced officials to take action. In 1989, Portland and five other ports including Vancouver, St Helens, Woodland, Kalama and Longview, asked the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to conduct a feasibility study. In 2003, the USACE estimated that the costs for the Columbia River Channel Improvement project would be USD134 million for two years of construction starting in 2005, which would provide a return of USD1.71 in economic benefits for every taxpayer dollar spent.  It asked Congress for funding and the States of Washington and Oregon, which used state lottery bonds, each contributed USD27.7 million. But by 2005, when construction started, the price for the project rose to USD151 million and the economic cost-benefit fell to USD1.66. As the project is drawing to a close by the end of this year, the environmental and economic promises of the [now] USD184.7 million-project has been costly, especially in a global economy that has resulted in a huge decline in international trade. This decline has also seen fewer ships using the River and those larger ships that Oregon and Washington leaders were counting on may not arrive, putting the economic benefits of deepening the channel even further in doubt.

Environmental concerns
Before the project started there was concern about the impact the works would have on the environment, ranging from harming fish to boosting salt-water intrusion to increasing contaminants in the river’s estuary. And although monitoring will continue for another three years, until now, contamination has been low and fish damage minimal. Other environmental aspects of the dredging works were also a concern. Initially, the USACE agreed to 736 acres of mitigation work to compensate for dumping dredged sand and rock onto farmlands, forests and wetlands. In the end, only 352 acres were completed. The Columbia River is home to 13 endangered or threatened salmon. Therefore, USACE agreed to around 4,000 acres of restoration work, in addition to some projects to address damage marshes and other fish habitat from past dredging. To date, only 700 of those 4,000 acres have been restored or are in process. Another 600 acres were dropped, while the remaining 2,700 acres are pending. It’s not clear if they will be completed. The reason for this was simple, after regulators approved the plans it encountered a lot of opposition from fishermen, landowners and state and federal agencies. Sport anglers opposed converting a bay on to a tidal marsh, while gill netters and others opposed work on fishing grounds, saying it would harm fishing. Farmers and landowners opposed projects to convert farmland to wildlife habitat. In addition, only one in five proposals to retrofit tide-gates to allow fish into 38 miles of Columbia River has gone through. In response to the opposition, the USACE and the port authorities concentrated their efforts on mitigation work, restoring wetlands and forests for endangered Columbia white-tailed deer on port-owned Cottonwood Island near Rainier instead. But for those in opposition and concerned about the environment the actions of USACE are clear – the mitigation projects address specific damage and were legally required, while the restoration projects weren’t.

Trade
When the works are completed the Columbia River would be 43 feet deep, which is still too shallow and cannot compete with the neighbouring deep-water ports of Seattle, Tacoma or Vancouver BC, which play host to today’s larger vessels and more efficiently send Northwest wheat and steel to markets around the globe. But the global economic downturn might have given the ports on the Columbia River an advantage as shipping lines save money by minimising not only port calls but also using smaller ships. For example Columbia Grain and other bulk exporters will be able to load their holds more fully once the project is done. New investments along the River show that a deeper channel will lure new business. Asian demand for American soybeans was non-existent back in the 1980s. Now, the soybean trade is driving projects like a new USD200 million grain terminal in Longview, a joint venture backed by Japanese and Korean investors, the country’s first in 25 years!

There might be one small concern left. With the expansion of the Panama Canal in 2014 and with economies picking up again shipping lines might to larger ships again and the Columbia River can’t get deeper anytime soon…