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Intention to form a single seaport alliance to manage the marine terminals
The ports of Tacoma and Seattle, for decades rivals in attracting shipping business, Tuesday announced their intention to form a single seaport alliance to manage the marine terminals and operations of both ports.
The alliance was born out of a series of confidential meetings held between the two port commissions over the past several months. The announcement of the new alliance was made in a joint news conference in Renton Tuesday morning.
According to the two ports, Port of Tacoma Chief Executive Officer John Wolfe will head the alliance. That alliance will jointly market and operate the marine terminals of both ports as a single entity.
Wolfe said it remains to be determined whether he will continue to serve as the Port of Tacoma chief executive as well as the alliance CEO or whether he will give up his Tacoma post to assume the new post.
“That’s all part of the due diligence process that we will undertake over the next few months,” he said. “There has been discussion both ways.”
The alliance stops short of a merger. Both ports will retain their respective port commissions. They will decide later this year how the profits and costs will be divided between the two ports. The two ports will retain ownership of the terminals and other marine assets in each of the two ports.
The new alliance will focus on attracting business now calling at ports outside Puget Sound.
“Where we were once rivals, we now intend to be partners,” Stephanie Bowman, co-president of the Port of Seattle Commission, said during a news conference. “Instead of competing against one another, we are combining our strengths to create the strongest maritime gateway in North America.” Bowman was once a Port of Tacoma executive.
Much detail of how the new alliance will operate remains to be decided in the next few months as each port assigns staff members to work out the particulars of the deal.
“Now the real work begins,” said Port of Tacoma Commission President Clare Petrich.
Petrich said major alliance decisions will likely require a majority vote by both five-member commissions. That means at least three members of each body would have to vote in favor of a resolution for that resolution to pass. Read more
Source: THE NEWS TRIBUNE
