Verhoeven was part of the Royal Boskalis Westminster group of companies for 40 years. After graduating with a degree in civil engineering from the Technical University of Delft (TU Delft) in 1976, he joined Royal Boskalis as a research specialist. Over the next 25 years, he held several technical management functions before becoming General Manager for Boskalis Netherlands, a position he held from 2000 to 2005. In 2005 he became a member of the management team of Royal Boskalis and was responsible for the company’s activities in Europe and several staff departments such as tender departments and SHE-Q. When Boskalis broadened its activities to the offshore industry, acquiring Smit International and later Dockwise, Verhoeven became responsible for the company’s offshore activities and from 2010 to 2012 was chairman of Smit’s Management Team.

In 2012 he became a member of the Board of Management of Royal Boskalis, a position he fulfilled until his retirement in 2016. Mr. Verhoeven is currently a member of various supervisory boards including that of Deltares, an independent institute for applied research in the field of water and soil.

In accepting his appointment as president, Verhoeven thanked retiring president Peter de Ridder for his contributions to the success of the IADC. De Ridder held the position for 4 years since September 2012. The IADC and its member companies look forward to working with Verhoeven as he assumes the association’s presidency and joins other board members, who come from the top companies in the dredging industry.

The International Association of Dredging Companies is the global umbrella organisation for contractors in the private dredging industry, dedicated to promoting the skills, integrity and reliability of its members, as well as the economic, social and environmental influence of the dredging industry in general. The IADC has over one hundred main and associated members.

The community workshop will be held from 6-8 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 24, at Banning’s Landing Community Center, 100 E. Water St. in Wilmington. The workshop is open to the public.

The CAAP was adopted in 2006 and has dramatically reduced pollution from maritime-related sources that operate in and around the ports. Programs implemented under the CAAP have reduced diesel particulate matter up to 84 percent, cut nitrogen oxides in half, eliminated 97 percent of sulfur oxides and lowered greenhouse gases an average of 12 percent, all while container volume has increased by 7 percent. The plan was last updated in 2010.

In November, Harbor Commissioners from both ports met to unveil the draft CAAP 2017 Discussion Document, which details proposed new strategies to further clean the air and reduce greenhouse gases. Strategies include aggressively deploying zero and near-zero emission trucks and cargo-handling equipment and expanding programs that reduce ship emissions.

Overall cargo declined 5.8 percent in 2016 compared to 2015, as the Port was impacted by new ocean carrier alliances and the August bankruptcy of Hanjin Shipping, a South Korean company and former majority stakeholder at the 381-acre Pier T container terminal — Long Beach’s largest.

By year’s end, the Harbor Commission had approved an agreement for a subsidiary of Mediterranean Shipping Co., one of the world’s largest container ship operators, to take sole control of the long-term lease at Pier T.

“As the new year starts, we’re grateful to be able to put the Hanjin bankruptcy behind us,” said Port of Long Beach Interim Chief Executive Duane Kenagy. “At the same time, MSC’s quick interest in Pier T once it became available shows the facility’s value to the industry. We’re looking forward to a mutually beneficial partnership with MSC and the 2M Alliance.”

“Last year was turbulent, with numerous ocean carrier mergers and other changes,” said Harbor Commission President Lori Ann Guzmán. “Now we have one of the largest ocean carriers in the world as a major partner and we’re well positioned to rebound in 2017. While the industry strives for equilibrium, Long Beach will continue be a reliable port of entry and continue to provide the fastest, most efficient services for trade from the Far East.”

Cargo was 8 percent lower in December compared to the same month in 2015. Imports decreased 8.2 percent to 271,599 twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEUs. Exports fell 2.5 percent to 122,933 TEUs, while empties declined 11.4 percent to 154,397 TEUs.

A total of 6,775,171 TEUs moved through docks in 2016. Imports totaled 3,442,575 TEUs, down 5 percent, and exports were up 0.3 percent to 1,529,497. Empty containers were down 11.7 percent to 1,803,098.

The year started on a high note in Long Beach, with shipments rising in early 2016 compared to the same period in 2015. Later in 2016, shifting service routes under the new alliances and the Hanjin bankruptcy contributed to a slide in cargo figures.