Port of Vancouver moves to extended hours in January

Port of Vancouver moves to extended hours in January    The Vancouver Port Authority, P&O Ports Canada and TSI Terminal Systems on Thursday announced plans to implement extended hours of operations at container terminal truck gates in the port beginning in January.
   The program is intended to increase truck gate operations at the Vanterm, Centerm and Deltaport marine terminal facilities by an average of 20 percent annually over the next five years, said the port in a statement.
   “Extending gate hours will not only increase capacity, it will help alleviate congestion at the terminals, which will also speed up transaction times,” Capt. Gordon Houston, president and chief executive officer of the Vancouver Port Authority, said in the statement. “Extended hours of operations will also make more efficient use of the regions road networks, by spreading truck traffic over a longer period, reducing congestion during traditional peak times, while also reducing emissions.'
   A recent task force report on transportation and industrial relations in the ports of Vancouver, identified congestion at truck gates as a significant concern shared by the ports, terminal operators, truckers, trucking companies and shippers.
   The report said that “the implementation of regular extended truck gate hours at container terminals has emerged as the single most effective method for reducing delays for trucks accessing the terminals.”
   The port said it has also implemented a system to monitor waiting times for trucks outside of the terminals’ gates. The data collected from this monitoring system will help the port evaluate the effectiveness of extended gates and other operational initiatives.
   In July, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach became the first ports in North America to institute nighttime truck gate hours at all marine terminals, while a nighttime operations pilot project for exports is currently underway at the Port of Oakland.