There are fewer than thirty (30) days before the Verified Gross Mass (VGM) amendment to the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) treaty goes into effect. As the deadline approaches at lightening speed, so do the glaring inadequacy of both operational and policy answers to the VGM implementation questions. Will the next 30 days bring answers to what we still don't know? "Unanswered" Operational Questions: How do I submit VGM? This seems like a rudimentary question and what shou

The Oregon Trade and Logistics Initiative (OTLI), like any good executive initiative, rode the wave of fear and uncertainty last spring as Oregon importers and exporters grappled with the new reality of our only container terminal losing the vast majority of its ocean service. Not two months had passed since Hanjin and Hapag-Lloyd pulled their service from the Port of Portland’s Terminal 6 had newly seated Governor Kate Brown approved the expense of $35,000 in the initiative

Ever watched the movie "Titanic?" Remember the scene when the First Mate gives Captain Smith the wireless warning from company headquarters about the ice bergs along the ship's planned course and the Captain subsequently orders the First Mate to "make turns for 20 knots...full speed ahead." The Mate then looks at Captain Smith in complete dismay for ordering the ship to full speed in spite of the obvious danger. Unfortunately, Captain Smith discovered the hard way that the Ti

Adam Smith wrote in his 1776 publication entitled -“Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations”, “As by means of water-carriage a more extensive market is opened to every sort of industry than what land-carriage alone can afford it, so it is upon the sea-coast, and along the banks of navigable rivers, that industry of every kind naturally begins to sub-divide and improve itself, and it is frequently not till a long time after that those improvements extend

The Oregon Trade and Logistics Initiative Engages State Agencies and Oregon Businesses to Facilitate Trade Solution. The last several months can be marked by such impactful events as the ILWU and PMA contract negotiations and Hanjin and Hapag Lloyd leaving Portland. The logistical challenges and their associated costs have not been lost on Allports. Our import and export teams have been by your side every step of the way, sharing in the struggles and finding solutions. We