Don’t Forget to Invest in the Vessels:
Two Linked Vessel-Focused Projects
on the Columbia River.
Q: What do ports naturally tend to focus on?
A: Hard infrastructure like terminals, rail facilities, & channels.
–
It’s always there. (It stays put.)
–
We own it. We control it.
–
We are responsible for it.
–
We directly profit from it.
A: Commercial & Governmental relationships.
–
They are crucial to us on a daily basis.
–
They involve a (more or less) stable set of players.
–
We directly or indirectly profit from them.
Q: What do ports naturally tend to forget?
A: The vessels themselves.
•
Individual vessels come and go. (Mostly they are gone.)
•
They usually belong to somebody else.
•
They are not in our control.
•
We may not see the same vessel twice.
•
They seem to be remarkably self-sufficient.
•
Arguably, we don’t necessarily profit from the operation of the
vessel itself.
An investment area we may tend to overlook:
Vessel-Focused Infrastructure:
Specific projects and investments that seek to increase the
safety and efficiency of the vessels themselves as they move
to and from our berths and terminals.
Why pursue these sorts of projects? Because a comparatively
small investment in vessel-focused infrastructure can yield a
large return in freight mobility efficiency.
Two Columbia River Examples:
1.
Columbia River Bar Pilots Dynamic Under Keel Clearance
(DUKC) Study.
–
Description: Precisely measure the amount of water under
the keels of various vessels as they transit the Columbia
River Bar in various conditions. Analyze for risk. We know
we have a great safety record. But why?
–
Status: Complete.
–
Cost: ~$400K from a State of Oregon “Connect Oregon 3”
grant to Columbia River Bar Pilots, plus ~$100K in
matching funds from the Bar Pilots’ tech/research fund.
Two Columbia River Examples:
2. Columbia River Pilots Vessel Squat* Study.
–
Description: Measure and analyze precisely how much
squat is experienced by actual vessels as they transit the
105 mile, 43’ deep, Columbia River deep draft channel.
–
Status: Connect Oregon 5 grant funds applied for by
Columbia River Pilots. Anticipated grant award in August
2014. Anticipated completion late 2016.
–
Cost: ~$900K from State CO5 funds. ~$250K in matching
funds from various OR & WA ports and terminals.
*Squat is the utterly inelegant technical term for the downward settling a vessel experiences as more
power is applied. It increases the effective draft of the vessel.
What did (and will) we learn?
•
On the Columbia River Bar, we were able to precisely
measure our current safety margins and adjust our practices
accordingly. In some cases procedures became more
restrictive, and in others less so. But in all cases we now
have a precise set of measurements upon which to base
future practices. We are safer because we are smarter.
•
On the Columbia River we intend to precisely measure vessel
squat under our current practices, and adjust accordingly. We
will also be able to help the Corps precisely prioritize dredging
based on vessel motion in specific stretches of the river.
What’s next?
Link the data and create a tool.
The final phase of the Columbia River vessel squat study will
marry the data sets from the Columbia River and Bar studies to
provide a 1 year demonstration of a comprehensive Columbia
River system-wide vessel transit tool. It will take into account
vessel type, vessel speed, tidal phase, river level, actual
surveyed water depths, and wave state on the Columbia River
Bar. It will allow vessels to maximize draft (and revenue)
without breaching precisely measured and validated safety
margins along the entire Columbia River channel.
Transit Overview
What’s it worth to us?
•
The Columbia River is an export-heavy system. One of our
major trade sectors is agricultural bulks. Very roughly, here is
value of the cargo that remains on the dock every time we are
required to restrict just one Panamax vessel’s draft by just
one foot:
~$300K if carrying wheat.
~$500K if carrying corn.
~$1.1M if carrying soy.
Contrast that with the $1.65M total cost of these two studies.
Why These Particular Projects?
1.
Excellent bang-to-buck ratio: Allows us know what is/is not
working well now, adjust accordingly -- and to better
anticipate the needs of newer, larger, and beamier ships we
expect to see.
2.
Good proactive risk management strategy: In this case, for
about $1.65M we will be able to understand precisely why
we have a good safety record, identify places where our
margins might be less than we would like, and take informed
action in response.
3.
$1.65M buys very little dredging – but it may well buy us
more usable draft through fewer draft restrictions. We know
what our vessels are doing, when we need to restrict their
draft -- and when we don’t.
Other Vessel-Focused Infrastructure ?
These Columbia River projects are built around the particular
needs and challenges we face. They are meant only as
examples. Other port systems may have other needs.
Regardless, a close look at the infrastructure gaps that face the
vessels themselves as they move into and out of any port
system may disclose some excellent opportunities for relatively
small -- but high return – infrastructure investment
opportunities.
One more Vessel-Focused project we did:
Questions?
Eric Burnette
Sr. Waterways Planner
Port of Portland
503 . 415 . 6791
Eric.Burnette@Portofportland.com