Port of Oakland works on dredging and drayage upgrades

The Port of Oakland said today it’s nearly a third of the way through its annual maintenance dredging program for 2015.

By November, the Port plans to scoop 185,000 cubic yards of sediment from 17 deep-water shipping berths. The goal of the $3.7 million project: maintain 50-foot depths so container ships aren’t stuck in the mud.

“This is one of the least glamorous, but most important jobs a port authority has every year,” said Chris Chan, the port’s Director of Engineering. “Few ports nationwide have the deep-water capability to berth the biggest container vessels, so we need to continually protect that advantage.”

Vessels capable of carrying up to 14,000 20-foot containers berth at Oakland. These are the largest ships calling U.S. ports. Berths and approach channels must be 50-feet-deep to accommodate them.

The port said it has dredged 45,000 cubic yards of material from six berths since dredging began in August. It will clear another 140,000 yards of material from 11 additional berths.

Dredging season is restricted to this time period to protect endangered fish and fowl. Sediment dredged from Oakland berths is being deposited at the Montezuma Wetlands on Suisun Bay. The 2,400-acre marsh is being restored as a shorebird habitat.

Late last week, the port also announced a renewed effort to increase drayage throughput.

“We owe it to the trucking community to continually improve Oakland operations,” said Maritime Director John Driscoll.    

Driscoll said in a letter sent to Beneficial Cargo Owners (BCOs), ocean carriers and harbor truckers. “We need to make it easier for them to do business with us.”


Efficient terminals benefit the global supply chain in two ways, he said.
First, they get expedite freight for BCOs, and secondly, they get truckers back on the road quickly to increase their earning potential.

Driscoll said inefficient ports delay truck drivers and limit the number of payloads they can transport daily. Increasing delays have caused an exodus of truckers from the industry, he said.

As reported in LM, Oakland is attempting to improve operations through a series of efficiency measures. The plans include Saturday gate hours, commonly shared container chassis, and new technology to measure trucker wait-times.