The ports of Seattle and Tacoma officially created the Northwest Seaport Alliance Tuesday, at a morning meeting at Federal Way City Hall.
The members of both ports’ commissions unanimously approved The Northwest Seaport Alliance, a joint operation of the ports of Seattle and Tacoma that is now the third-largest marine cargo load center in the United States.
The Seaport Alliance was created to counter rising competition from ports in British Columbia and Southern California, which have in recent years been taking market share from the Puget Sound ports.
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“I believe this gateway will be one of the most attractive gateways in North America, with less congestion, higher efficiency,” said John Wolfe who has been promoted from CEO of the Port of Tacoma to CEO of the Seaport Alliance.
At the end of the Tuesday meeting, a joint team unveiled the Seaport Alliance’s new logo: Two curved shapes facing each other, over the motto “Northwest Seaport Alliance, gateway to solutions.”
The alliance has launched a website and digital presence on Facebook and Linked-In. In addition, it is creating an “operations service center” that will make it possible for shippers to see the exact location of their cargo as it passes through the ports. The system will be the first of its type in the nation, said Port of Tacoma Deputy CEO Dan Esterbrook.
“When this is complete it will separate us, and we will be an industry leader in that regard,” Esterbrook said. “This gateway will allow us to differentiate ourselves.”
During the comment period, several commissioners referred to The Northwest Seaport Alliance as analogous to a marriage.
Seattle Commission Co-president Stephanie Bowman said it was “a long-term commitment with your eyes wide open, with future success as your goal.”
Port of Tacoma commissioner Don Johnson said the two ports were forced to join together to stay competitive.
“It’s the best thing that happened to Washington and this region for many years,” he said. “The competition is the B.C. ports, the Panama Canal, the Suez Canal…and LA-Long Beach.”
He added that a key benefit of the alliance will be coordinating infrastructure investments, which he said could be upward for $900 million between Seattle and Tacoma.
“If we have a rational way to do those investments, the citizens of both counties will have a reasonable return on that,” Johnson said.
In the alliance structure, both port commissions will remain independent, and will be elected by the citizens of Pierce and King counties.
Major decisions made by the alliance will require approval of both commissions.
The Port of Seattle will continue to independently operate Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.