In the week ahead, you have two chances to hear updates on the port:

TUESDAY: The Northwest Seaport Alliance managing members – aka port commissioners from Seattle and Tacoma – will get their quarterly briefing on the Terminal 5 project progress, delayed from last month (just before NWSA announced that the opening of T-5’s first modernized berth would be delayed until early next year). The meeting starts at 11:30 am Tuesday; the agenda, with viewing/listening/commenting info, is here, and the T-5 briefing documents are here.

WEDNESDAY: A Port of Seattle rep will be the guest at the District 1 Community Network‘s monthly meeting, online, 7 pm Wednesday. Community members are welcome to attend and participate. Videoconferencing and dial-in info is in our calendar listing.

5:25 PM: The Northwest Seaport Alliance was supposed to present an update on the Terminal 5 modernization plan this past Tuesday, but pulled it from the agenda at the last minute, saying “several recent project changes” had rendered the planned update “outdated.” Here’s a big change: The NWSA just announced that T-5’s opening is being pushed back at least half a year. Here’s the announcement:

Terminal 5 to Open Q1 2022, Revising Earlier Estimates

The Northwest Seaport Alliance Terminal 5 Modernization Project is a critical component to expanding our cargo-handling capabilities. This facility will allow our region to remain globally competitive and grow our local economy. Due to the complex nature of this large infrastructure construction combined with unforeseen circumstances, this project is now seeing schedule impacts. To ensure project quality and a robust facility with construction that will last for decades, the NWSA now expects Phase 1 of the project to be targeted for completion by the end of Q4, 2021, rather than the expected Q2 of 2021.

The NWSA will be providing a full project update during the March Managing Members meeting scheduled for Tuesday, March 2nd at 11:30am. This project remains a top priority and alongside our tenant, SSAT, we are committed to delivering the modernized Terminal 5 facility as soon as possible. We continue to believe this project is critical to maintaining economic and industrial diversity in our region and living wage jobs that are key to building an equitable and resilient economy.

At the February 2nd meeting of the Managing Members, commissioners approved three items relating to T5 construction, specifically the South Reefers Repair, Clean Truck Program and Radiation Portal Monitors/U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Booth Power Infrastructure. Piling and other construction work continues on the project.

This has ramifications for other things, such as West Seattle Low Bridge access, which has been reserving capacity for T-5 trucks. We’ll be following up.

6:29 PM: For the record, this is the memo and slide deck for the briefing that was supposed to happen on Tuesday. When the lease was announced – exactly two years ago tomorrow – it was envisioned the north berth could be open as soon as last month.

(Northwest Seaport Alliance photo of earlier pile-driving)

10:21 AM: The next round of pile-driving is ahead for the Terminal 5 project, according to this alert we received from the Port of Seattle this morning:

Contractors will conduct pile driving at Terminal 5 in West Seattle beginning February 8, 2021. Pile driving will continue through March and possibly into April. The activity will include both vibratory and impact hammer pile driving. The vibratory method is relatively quiet and will likely be audible only to businesses and residences close to the terminal. Impact hammer driving will be more audible, and the sound will travel greater distances than the vibratory driving. The schedule calls for three or four days of vibratory driving, followed by three or four days of impact driving.

Under the City of Seattle’s Noise Ordinance, pile driving may take place between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays, and between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekends and legal holidays.

As we reported over the weekend, the Northwest Seaport Alliance managing members’ monthly meeting tomorrow will include an in-depth progress report on the T-5 project.

UPDATE: We’re told the vibratory pile-driving has actually already begun.

Those photos are from a presentation that will be given to the Northwest Seaport Alliance managing members – aka commissioners from the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma – during their monthly meeting on Tuesday. This will be their quarterly update on the Terminal 5 modernization project in West Seattle, as it approaches a major milestone – the north berth at T-5 is supposed to go into service by midyear. The meeting is online, starting at 11:30 am Tuesday (February 2nd); here’s the agenda (including call-in and commenting instructions), and here’s where to watch the meeting’s video stream.

(Image: Google Maps)

As we continue looking ahead to the first meetings of the new year – a West Seattle item of note is on the Tuesday agenda for the Northwest Seaport Alliance‘s managing members, aka the port commissioners from Seattle and Tacoma – a vote to authorize a new lease for the automated fuel station at Terminal 115, north of the West Marginal Way SW/Highland Park Way intersection. The agenda document says the original 5-year lease ended in 2019 but various factors delayed renegotiation of a new one, so the Associated Petroleum Products station’s been there on “holdover status” for almost two years. The agenda document says the two sides agreed to lease terms a year ago but:

“In March 2020, just prior to the Lease being brought to the April 2020 Managing Members meeting, APP requested a rental rate reduction due to their business being negatively impacted by the COVID 19 pandemic and WA State’s Stay at Home policy. NWSA Real Estate declined a rental rate reduction but did offer to delay moving forward with the new lease and new rental rate as we interpreted APP’s request as potentially falling within Governor Inslee’s April 16, 2020 Proclamation 20-19.1 as prohibiting rent increases for commercial tenants when tenants were ‘materially impacted by the COVID-19, . . . whether the business itself was not deemed essential pursuant to Proclamation 20-25 or otherwise lost staff or customers due to the COVID-19 outbreak.’ APP agreed to recommence negotiations in September 2020. Lease drafts were exchanged, and the parties agreed to a final Lease on December 11, 2020. …”

The document says that following an appraisal, the rent is going up from $8,307 a month to $12,065. APP also has the right to keep subleasing space on the site to Portside Coffee and Subway. The vote is part of Tuesday’s 11:30 am meeting; you can listen by calling 253-617-4257 (Id: 467 507 334#), or you can watch the videostream here.

Three Port of Seattle notes:

PARK NAMES: After the month-long name-nominating process for its parks on the Duwamish River, the port plans an online event at noon Tuesday (September 15th) to announce the three finalists for each park, and what happens next. Here’s how to watch/listen.

HOW TO REPORT A PARK PROBLEM: Bob recently emailed a photo of extensive tagging at a Jack Block Park restroom building. We checked with the port regarding how to report something like that. Spokesperson Peter McGraw says using the contact form on this webpage is best for vandalism/trash.

MORE CRANES TO BE MOVED: As previously reported, three cranes were recently moved from West Seattle’s Terminal 5 to Tacoma (one on August 26th, two on September 5th). If you’re on the north-facing West Seattle shore, you might see two more cranes go by late in the week – two are being removed from T-46 downtown, to be scrapped. McGraw gave us this schedule:

9/14: Monday…barge arrives and will build temporary rails for transporting the cranes on the barge.
9/16: Wednesday…load first crane on to barge
9/17: Thursday…load second crane into barge
9/18: Friday…barge to sail.

(Not sure where T-46 is? See a port map here.)

(NW Seaport Alliance photo: Matson Mahimahi docking at Terminal 5 in 2019)

Two changes ahead at Terminal 5 in West Seattle. Temporary tenant Matson will call there for the last time this week; it’s consolidating Hawaii operations with the Alaska operations it runs from the West Sitcum terminal in Tacoma starting August 28th. As a result, three of the cranes at T-5 will be moved there starting next week; the Northwest Seaport Alliance‘s announcement says, “The cranes will be raised with hydraulic jacks and the wheels/trucks rotated 90 degrees and loaded on a barge.” The remaining three will be dismantled and removed later this year; new cranes will arrive next year as the first expanded berth of the T-5 modernization project prepares to open.

(Port of Seattle image. 2019: Yellow-shaded area is where a new cruise terminal was envisioned)

Thanks for the tips! The Port of Seattle announced today that it’s officially canceling its plan to seek a partner to build out a new cruise-ship terminal at T-46 on the downtown waterfrpnt. As the announcement notes, the plan already was on hold:

In April 2020, the Port of Seattle suspended its planning for a new cruise terminal to serve the Alaska market, citing a need to better understand the short and long-term cruise industry market impacts from COVID-19 before continuing its project investment in additional cruise facilities. As a result of this current analysis, the Port will cancel its request for industry proposals for a joint investment to build and operate a proposed new cruise terminal at the preferred location of Terminal 46. …

Cruise has become an integral leading business line for the Port of Seattle and an important part of the region’s maritime and regional economies. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Port of Seattle was forecasting a record year for 2020 with 233 cruise vessels scheduled to sail from Seattle. With an estimated 1.3 million revenue passengers expected to travel to and from our terminals this season, cruise supports 5,500 jobs, and provides nearly $900 million in economic activity for the region. …

Prior analysis of the cruise market and cruise ship deployment supported the need for a fourth berth to meet the demand for Port of Seattle cruise services. A cruise terminal requires a deep-water berth, a building to process passengers, a ground transportation area, long-term parking for cruise passengers, associated utilities, and connection to the local transportation system.

The Port of Seattle and Northwest Seaport Alliance will continue with prior projects to make Terminal 46 more sustainable and durable for long-term general maritime use, including installing stormwater treatment infrastructure and rehabilitating the dock. Vessel berthing and maritime support will continue on the terminal. The Port will prepare a recommendation for the Cruise Terminal Project when there is greater certainty about demand for Port of Seattle cruise services.

Read the full announcement here. Last fall, the port had projected the now-canceled project for completion in 2023.

The Terminal 5 modernization project in West Seattle, meantime, continues full-speed ahead, confirms port spokesperson Peter McGraw, with its north cargo berth expected to be ready next spring,