Port of Seattle - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Port of Seattle is a port district that runs Seattle's seaport

Port

A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....

and airport

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

The Seattle–Tacoma International Airport , also known as Sea–Tac Airport or Sea–Tac , is an American airport located in SeaTac, Washington, at the intersections of State Routes 99 and 509 and 518, about west of Interstate 5...

. Its creation was approved by the voters of King County, Washington

King County, Washington

King County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population in the 2010 census was 1,931,249. King is the most populous county in Washington, and the 14th most populous in the United States....

, on September 5, 1911, authorized by the Port District Act

Port District Act

The Port District Act is a law enacted by the Legislature of the U.S. state of Washington in 1911, that enabled citizens to establish public port districts to develop and operate harbors and related transportation facilities....

. It is run by a five-member commission. The commissioners' terms run four years. In 2009, the Port of Seattle was the 10th busiest port in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

by twenty-foot equivalent unit

Twenty-foot equivalent unit

The twenty-foot equivalent unit is an inexact unit of cargo capacity often used to describe the capacity of container ships and container terminals...

s (TEU) of container ship

Container ship

Container ships are cargo ships that carry all of their load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. They form a common means of commercial intermodal freight transport.-History:...

traffic and the 70th busiest in the world in 2008.

Among its facilities are the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

in SeaTac, Washington

SeaTac, Washington

SeaTac is an American city in southern King County, Washington, and an outlying suburb of Seattle, Washington. Incorporated in February 1990, the City of SeaTac is ten square miles in area and has a population of 26,909 according to the 2010 census...

; the Shilshole Bay

Shilshole Bay

Shilshole Bay is the part of Puget Sound east of a line drawn northeasterly from Seattle's West Point in the southwest to its Golden Gardens Park in the northeast. On its shores lie Discovery Park, the Lawtonwood section of the Magnolia neighborhood, the neighborhood of Ballard, and Golden Gardens...

Marina; the Maritime Industrial Center and Fishermen's Terminal

Fishermen's Terminal

Fishermen's Terminal is located on Salmon Bay in the Interbay neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, east of the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks and immediately west of the Ballard Bridge....

on Salmon Bay

Salmon Bay

Salmon Bay is that part of the Lake Washington Ship Canal--which passes through the city of Seattle, linking Lake Washington to Puget Sound--that lies west of the Fremont Cut. It is the westernmost section of the canal, and empties into Shilshole Bay, which is part of Puget Sound. Because of the...

; cargo terminals and a grain elevator

Grain elevator

A grain elevator is a tower containing a bucket elevator, which scoops up, elevates, and then uses gravity to deposit grain in a silo or other storage facility...

on Smith Cove

Smith Cove (Washington)

Smith Cove is a body of water, the northern part of Seattle, Washington's Elliott Bay, immediately south of the area that has been known since 1894 as Interbay...

; and numerous cargo terminals on Elliott Bay

Elliott Bay

Elliott Bay is the body of water on which Seattle, Washington, is located. A line drawn from Alki Point in the south to West Point in the north serves to mark the generally accepted division between the bay and the open sound...

, Harbor Island

Harbor Island

Harbor Island is an artificial island in the mouth of Seattle, Washington's Duwamish Waterway where it empties into Elliott Bay. Built by the Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging Company, Harbor Island was completed in 1909 and was then the largest artificial island in the world, at 350 acres...

, and the Duwamish Waterway. The Port of Seattle also controls recreational and commercial moorage facilities and two cruise ship

Cruise ship

A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...

terminals.

History

From the first Commission Report for 1912: The Port of Seattle came into existence on September 5, 1911, by a vote of the people of the Port District held on that date in accordance with the Port District Act of March 14, 1911. The work of the commission for the first six months was confined almost entirely to the preparation of projects which were duly approved by the people at a special election held on March 5, 1912. The program embraced six distinct projects...

Current issues

The Port is not without controversy. Perhaps the longest-running battle was over the third runway

Runway

According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...

for Sea-Tac, which is now completed and became operational on November 20, 2008.

There has been a surge in scandals and criticism during the past year or so. Among them are a quarter-million dollar severance package offered to the Port's former chief executive Mic Dinsmore, lax accounting practices found by state audits, and the discovery of pornographic and racist e-mails being exchanged by about a third of the Port's police force.

In addition, the Port has been involved in a complex and widely opposed proposal for a three-way trade in which it would purchase the Woodinville Subdivision

Woodinville Subdivision

The Woodinville Subdivision is a railroad line that was formerly owned by BNSF Railway and takes its names from one of its original end points in Woodinville, Washington, United States. The line extends approximately in east King County and Snohomish County. The line's ownership has been...

, a railroad in Seattle's eastern suburbs, from BNSF Railway

BNSF Railway

The BNSF Railway is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It is one of seven North American Class I railroads and the second largest freight railroad network in North America, second only to the Union Pacific Railroad, its primary...

, its current owner, and then transfer it to King County who would remove the tracks and replace them with a bicycle trail. King County would then transfer its airport, Boeing Field

Boeing Field

Boeing Field, officially King County International Airport , is a two-runway airport owned and run by King County, Washington, USA. In promotional literature, the airport is frequently referred to as KCIA, but this is not the airport identifier. The airport has some passenger service, but is mostly...

, to the Port.

Thus, reform of the Port has become a major focal point of the platforms of some of the candidates competing for Port Commissioner positions in recent elections.

Another issue has been with the traffic amount of inbound container ships. While most of the Seattle area appears to have fared relatively well in the current economic state, the port has suffered the loss of a good portion of business from around the world. The repercussions of this can be seen from simple changes, such as the lack of hours to employ staff and associates. For example, many of the truck drivers who move containers from the port to area rail yards previously worked up to seven days per week. Currently they are getting paid for four or less. Seattle's port has suffered the loss of inbound shipments at a rate higher than all the west coast ports combined. The port is currently down eight percent year-to-date. While the rest of the west coast is down at 6.6%. Surprisingly the Port of Tacoma

Port of Tacoma

The Port of Tacoma is an independent seaport located in Tacoma, Washington. The port was created by a vote of Pierce County citizens on November 5, 1918...

still manages to do better, as they are down less than one percent.

Cruise Seattle

2011-2012 Cruise Lines and Cruise Ships:
Carnival Spirit

Carnival Spirit

Carnival Spirit was the first Spirit class cruise ship for Carnival Cruise Lines. She was also the first new "Fun Ship" to sail to Alaska and Hawaii...

Alaska	Total Staterooms - 1,062 Passenger capacity - 2,124 Total crew - 930 Tonnage - 88,500 Ship length - 960
Princess Cruise Lines	Golden Princess Golden Princess Golden Princess is a Grand-class cruise ship for Princess Cruises that entered service in 2001. It is the sister ship of Grand Princess and Star Princess. It measures 109,000 gross tons and carries 2,600 passengers plus 1,100 crew members...	Alaska, Pacific Northwest	Capacity: 2,590 passengers Crew: 1,100 crew
Princess Cruise Lines	Sapphire Princess Sapphire Princess The Sapphire Princess is a cruise ship owned by Princess Cruises which entered service in 2004. It is one of the world's largest cruise ships, with a capacity of approximately 2670 passengers and is the sixth Gem Class ship built by Princess Cruises....	Alaska, Pacific Northwest	To be replaced by Star Princess in 2012. Capacity: 2,670 passengers Crew: 1,100 crew
Princess Cruise Lines	Star Princess Star Princess Star Princess is a Grand-class cruise ship, operated by Princess Cruises. Star Princess is a sister ship to Grand Princess and the Golden Princess....	Alaska, Pacific Northwest	Begins 2012 replaces Saphire Princess. Capacity: 2,590 passengers Crew: 1,150
Norwegian Cruise Line	Norwegian Pearl Norwegian Pearl Norwegian Pearl is a Jewel class cruise ship of Norwegian Cruise Line, launched in 2006, sailing itineraries primarily around Alaska and the Caribbean.-History:...	Alaska, Pacific Northwest, 1 day Vancouver	Only bowling at sea! Capacity: 2394 passengers Crew: 1100 crew
Norwegian Cruise Line	Norwegian Jewel Norwegian Jewel Norwegian Jewel is a cruise ship operated by Norwegian Cruise Line. She is the lead vessel of NCL's Jewel class cruise ships and entered service in 2005.-History:...	Alaska, Pacific Northwest	Begins in 2012 as Nickelodean family cruising.Replaces the Star ship. Capacity: 2,376 passengers Crew: 1,100
Norwegian Cruise Line	Norwegian Star Norwegian Star Norwegian Star is a Libra-class cruise ship operated by Norwegian Cruise Line. She was built in 2001 by Meyer Werft, Papenburg, Germany.-History:The Norwegian Star entered service at the end of 2001...	Alaska, Pacific Northwest, 1 day Vancouver	Will be move homeports to New York will be replaced by the Jewel. Capacity: 2,240 passengers Crew: 1,100 crew
Holland America Cruise Lines	MS Amsterdam MS Amsterdam MS Amsterdam is a cruise ship owned and operated by Holland America Line and is named for the city of Amsterdam in northern Holland. She is the line's "Pacific Flagship" and is a sister ship to . She is the co-flagship of Holland America Line along with the Rotterdam.As with Rotterdam, Amsterdam...	Alaska, Asia, Australia, Northwest	Passenger capacity: 1,380 Crew members: 615
Holland America Cruise Lines	Westerdam	Alaska Hawaii, Tahiti, and Marequesas Islands, Pacific Noethwest	Passenger capacity: 1,916 Crew members: 817
Holland America Cruise Lines	Oosterdam	Alaska, New Zealand, Trans Pacific	Passenger capacity: 1,916 Crew members: 817
Disney Cruise Lines	Disney Wonder Disney Wonder Disney Wonder is the second cruise ship operated by Disney Cruise Line; it was launched in 1999. It is nearly identical in construction to its sister ship, Disney Magic. Both ships have 11 public decks, can accommodate 2,400 passengers in 875 staterooms, and have a crew of approximately 950. ...	Alaska	Begins 2012. Capacity: 2,400 passengers Crew: 945
Celebrity Cruise Lines	Celebrity Infinity	Alaska, Panama Canal	Tonnage: 91,000 gross tons Length: 964.6 feet (294.0 m) Beam: 105.6 feet (32.2 m) Draft: 26.3 feet (8.0 m) Decks: 12 Speed: 24 knots (44 km/h)
Royal Caribbean	Rhapsody of the Seas Rhapsody of the Seas -External links:* * * *...	Alaska	Capacity: 2,435 passengers Crew: 765 crew

Former Ships

Norwegian Sun

Norwegian Sun is a Sky class cruise ship operated by Norwegian Cruise Line. She entered service in 2001 in a dual christening ceremony at the Port of Miami with the Norwegian Star. She was constructed at the Lloyd Werft shipyard in Bremerhaven, Germany...

Alaska, Pacific Northwest	Replacd by Norwegian Star
Norwegian Cruise Line	Norwegian Star Norwegian Star Norwegian Star is a Libra-class cruise ship operated by Norwegian Cruise Line. She was built in 2001 by Meyer Werft, Papenburg, Germany.-History:The Norwegian Star entered service at the end of 2001...	Alaska, Pacific Northwest	Replaced By Norwegian Jewel in 2012
Norwegian Cruise Line	Norwegian Sky	Alaska, Pacific Northwest	Replaced by Norwegian Pearl
Celebrity Cruise Lines	Celebrity Mercury	Alaska, Panama Canal	Replaced by Infinity. The ship was replaced due to the speed of the ship. The Mercury was to slow. 2011 the Mercury is now retired.

Current Port Commissioners

Position 1: John Creighton, elected 2005

Position 2: Gael Tarleton, elected 2007

Position 3: Rob Holland, elected 2009

Position 4: Tom Albro, elected 2009

Position 5: Bill Bryant, elected 2007

List of Port Commissioners

This list comes from a book published in 1976. Research ongoing for the rest of the names and terms.

Hiram M. Chittenden
Hiram M. Chittenden
Hiram Martin Chittenden was the Seattle district engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers for whom the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks in Seattle, Washington, were named.-Early Life:...

- 1912-15
C.E. Remsberg - 1912-19
Robert Bridges - 1912-19
Dr. Carl A. Ewald - 1915-19
T.S. Lippy - 1918-21
W.D. Lincoln - 1919-32
Dr. W.T. Christensen - 1919-22
George B. Lamping - 1921-33
George F. Cotterill - 1922-34
Smith M. Wilson - 1932-42
Horace P. Chapman - 1933-47
J.A. Earley - 1934-51
E.H. Savage - 1942-58
A.B. Terry - 1947-48
Gordon Rowe - 1949-54
C.H. Carlander - 1951-62
M.J. Weber - 1954-60
Capt. Tom McManus - 1958-64
John M. Haydon - 1960-69
Gordon Newell - 1960-63
Frank R. Kitchell - 1961-73
Miner H. Baker - 1963-69
Robert W. Norquist - 1963-69
Merle D. Adlum - 1964-
J. Knox Woodruff - 1969-73
Fenton Radford - 1969-70
Paul S. Friedlander - 1970-
Henry L. Kotkins - 1970-
Jack S. Block - 1974-
Henry T. Simonson - 1974-

General Managers

J.R. West - 1933-1935
Col. W.C. Bickford - 1935-1945
Col. Warren D. Lamport - 1946-1951
George T. Tredwell - 1951-1953
Howard M. Burke - 1953-1964
J. Eldon Opheim - 1964-

External links

Port of Seattle homepage
Port of Seattle - YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....