Vancouver’s port faces new, larger American rival

Port of Tacoma | BCBusiness
Mount Rainier overlooking the Port of Tacoma

The ports of Seattle and Tacoma have agreed to merge, but the consequences for Vancouver’s port are yet unclear, says spokesman

Washington state’s two largest container terminals announced Tuesday that they are merging their management structures in an attempt to increase business and retain jobs. The imapct that it will have on Vancouver’s port, however, is as of yet unclear.

The Port of Seattle and the Port of Tacoma will begin combining their marine cargo operations to form the Seaport Alliance, the result of months of secret negotiations between the formerly fierce competitors. On final approval, the port association will become the third largest container gateway in North America, employing more than 48,000.

“Where we were once rivals, we now intend to be partners,” said Stephanie Bowman, co-president of the Port of Seattle Commission, in a rather light-hearted press release. She went on to note that the alliance is equivalent “to tearing down the Berlin Wall between Pierce and King County”
 
Among the reasons for the merger: competition from the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert. But Port Metro Vancouver spokesman John Parker-Jervis said in a statement that “it’s unclear at this stage how the alliance will operate, but we don’t anticipate it will have any impact on our operations.”
 
While the formal vote to accept the new alliance won’t take place until October 18, both port commissions are expected to adopt the measure, which is then forwarded to the Federal Maritime Commission for preliminary approval and a six-month due diligence period. According to a Port of Tacoma press release, the alliance will cover marine cargo terminal investments and operations as well as planning and marketing, while the individual port commissions will retain their existing governance structures and asset ownership.