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Containers get a makeover that could help unsnarl cargo issues
Nov 19, 2021The humble shipping container has remained relatively unchanged in basic design since it was first invented in the 1950s. Now a relatively new take on containers could become more popular. The collapsible container – a more flexible version of the original could take up less space on board and help unsnarl the world’s cargo issues in the pandemic.
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Wind power equipment a big economic driver for Port of Vancouver, USA
Nov 18, 2021The Port of Vancouver, Wash., has been doing steady business during the pandemic, even though it’s not a container port. Part of the reason is the importing of wind energy equipment for wind farms inland. The port is uniquely equipped to import the huge components, and that’s made it a prime destination for such equipment on the West Coast.
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BC endures catastrophic flooding as big storm just misses OR and WA
Nov 17, 2021Locals here in Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington held their collective breath as a huge atmospheric river weather event slid by our area and barreled into British Columbia to the north. Even we got lots of rain here. But the storm left B.C. communities swamped and residents stranded.
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A personal look at the Edmund Fitzgerald tragegy
Nov 16, 2021Even though it happened more than 40 years ago, the tragedy of the Edmund Fitzgeral ore carrier still hits home, especially people who were living in the area and working in the maritime industry at the time the wreck happened in 1975.
Reid Johnson was in the USCG stationed on a cutter in Lake Huron when the Mighty Fitz sank. He still remembers how the wreck haunted all of them on board, because the ship was so familiar to everyone in the region.
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USCG to the rescue in Tillamook
Nov 15, 2021We usually think of our beloved Coasties rescuing people on the water, but sometimes they also help people on land. Sometimes, as in this case of some folks in an RV park stranded by rising flood waters, water is also involved.
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Operation Deep Freeze
Nov 12, 2021This weekend, a USCG icebreaker departs from Seattle on a three-month mission: to clear a channel through thick ice in Antarctica to McMurdo station, opeing a path for supply vessels to reach a research facility at the bottom of the world.
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The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Nov 10, 2021Each year, I commemorate the loss of this beloved ship on Lake Superior on November 10, 1975. She was beloved to people around the region, who called her “The Mighty Fitz.” She and her crew hauled iron ore between Canada and the US for 17 years. Then one night, in a terrible storm, she was lost with all hands, in one of the worst maritime tragedies in U.S. History. This is my annual tribute to the sailors and families of the Mighty Fitz.
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US cargo ports in line to get federal help with slowdowns
A look at a statement yesterday from the Biden administration on ways to speed up deliveries of bogged down cargo containers, as the president speaks with big box executives about solutions.
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West Coast terminals impose fees for bogged down cargo
Nov 09, 2021A look at an emerging trend in the bogged down cargo mess: West Coast terminals assessing fees on containers that just sit there for long periods without moving through the supply chain. In an increasingly expensive shipping environment, this isn’t very good news, but understandable for terminal owners.
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A miracle story from the frozen north
Nov 08, 2021There’s a lot of upsetting news to be had these days, so it’s so great when we get to share a story that’s truly lovely.
The story starts when a fishing boat runs aground in Alaska and her crew needs help. A Coast Guard helicopter crew rescues the fishermen, but there’s still one missing – their 80 pound lab mix puppy, Grace, who went overboard as the boat capsized.
The next day when the Coast Guard came back to assess the aftermath of the incident, they discovered a small miracle on the beach: Grace – cold, but unharmed, and certainly living up to her name.
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