Port of Bellingham suggests this may increase container shipping contracts
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Bellingham Bay shipping
From international COVID-pandemic shipping delays to new initiatives by the Port of Bellingham, there’s a lot going on in Bellingham Bay. Have a question or story idea? Send it to newsroom@bellinghamherald.com
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Port of Bellingham suggests this may increase container shipping contracts
This is how idling container ships in Bellingham Bay could impact the environment
Glut of container ships expected to keep arriving on West Coast and Bellingham Bay
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What’s with all the ship traffic in Bellingham Bay? There could be more on the way
Here’s what’s going on with the new arrival at the Port of Bellingham’s shipping terminal
A change by the federal government could make it easier for Bellingham to land container shipping contracts in the next year.
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced the creation of a new marine highway project called the M-5 Coastal Connector. This connector between Bellingham, a yet-to-be-announced port in southern Oregon and San Diego will encourage the transportation of goods on barges that could reduce truck traffic on Interstate 5, according to a news release from the Port of Bellingham.
“Making better use of our inland waterways can boost America’s maritime industry and create jobs while cutting vehicle emissions and traffic congestion,” said Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg in the news release. “The increased usage of our nation’s marine highways will be an important part of a comprehensive approach to climate change.”
Bellingham has seen firsthand the need for more options for unloading shipping containers. Throughout the summer huge container ships have parked in Bellingham Bay, waiting a turn to unload at ports in Seattle and Tacoma.
On Friday morning, Sept. 3, Bellingham Bay had two container ship visitors, according to the website MarineTraffic.com: The MSC Vidisha, a 921-foot vessel that is here from Mexico and the MSC Fiammetta, a 908-foot vessel that’s also from Mexico. Both were waiting to go into port in Seattle.
While Bellingham has a shipping terminal and a new crane to unload containers, the ships in the bay this summer are too big for Bellingham’s 1,200-foot dock.
Instead, the marine highway designation will open up opportunities for smaller projects that are having trouble finding places to unload, said Ken Bell, president of the Port of Bellingham commission.
“This will help attract business that we would not have done otherwise,” Bell said in a telephone interview with The Bellingham Herald.
The Port of Bellingham is already having discussions with several barge operating companies that want to use this route. It’s anticipated that the barges would start sailings in early 2022, according to the port. Flat-bottom barges are usually unpowered, so they would be towed or pushed by tugs.
By creating this marine highway designation, the route is opened up to possible federal grants for equipment and other improvements.
Before the arrival of the crane, the shipping terminal’s focus had been on domestic barge traffic that didn’t involve containers, including the recent shipping of large rocks for a major project on the Columbia River.
In 2018, the 590-foot MV African Egret arrived in Bellingham Bay and loaded about 5.2 million board feet of logs that were shipped to China for housing construction and furniture production. In 2017, the MV Diana Bolten unloaded organic corn and soybeans that went to local markets.
This story was originally published September 8, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
CORRECTION: The length of the Bellingham Shipping Terminal dock was corrected on Sept. 8, 2021.
