Terminal Operator Exits Port of Oakland
A joint venture that includes terminal operator Ports America and Terminal Investment will cease operations at the Port of Oakland, California, officials said Jan. 19, dealing a blow to the East Bay cargo hub.
"We're disappointed when a tenant leaves," Port of Oakland spokesman Michael Zampa said. "But it also presents opportunities for the port."
The port, which is trying to rebound from a labor dispute that hobbled West Coast ports early last year, already is engaged in negotiations to bring a new tenant to the terminal when it becomes idle in about 60 days.
The upheaval came about when Outer Harbor Terminal, a joint venture of Ports America and Terminal Investment, decided it would halt operations at the Port of Oakland. The operator occupied one of five terminals at the port.
"Outer Harbor Terminal LLC will wind down container operations and transition out of the Port of Oakland," the terminal operator and stevedore joint venture announced Jan. 19.
Port officials believe the shutdown won't disrupt the handling of containers at the complex.
"Oakland has excess capacity," Zampa said. "We can move ships and cargo from the terminal that is winding down operations and shift them to adjacent terminals with room to spare."
The port envisions multiple opportunities despite the departure.
"It allows us to diversify, modernize, and perhaps over time find new revenue streams for the port," Zampa said.
That doesn't mean everything will always run smoothly.
"There may be some impacts with the departures," Zampa said, "but we see long-term benefits."
Outer Harbor Terminal has operated at the Oakland port for the past six years. The partners said the venture made a joint decision to transition out of Oakland.
"Ports America has used that as an opportunity to refocus its West Coast strategy on the locations where it has multiple, larger sites," said Peter Ford, chief strategy officer for Ports America. Those future locations are key rivals of the Oakland port: the ports of Tacoma, Long Beach and Los Angeles.
For its part, the Oakland port has been testing the operation of its gates at night and on weekends so that truckers and shipping lines would gain much more flexibility to move cargo in and out of the port.
"By the end of the first quarter, the Saturday gate program will become permanent," Zampa said.
The Oakland port also hopes to soon finish negotiations with an unidentified company or companies that could become a tenant at the soon-to-be-vacated terminal.
"Talks are far along with potential tenants," Zampa said. "These would be maritime uses. But what those are would be open to a wide range of possibilities."
