Port of Olympia says interest in Panama Canal-size ships misunderstood
The Port of Olympia has issued a “statement of correction,” saying an earlier statement about wanting to bring larger ships to its marine terminal was misunderstood and needs to be clarified.
The confusion began Monday during the port commission meeting. During public comment, resident and former port commission candidate Helen Wheatley alerted the commission to documents relating to Capitol Lake that show the port has an interest in bringing Panama Canal-size ships to the marine terminal. Those ships are known as Panamax and Neopanamax vessels.
Commissioners were unaware of what Wheatley was referencing. “I know in the last five years those words (Panamax and Neopanamax) have never crossed our lips,” Commissioner Joe Downing said.
The documents Wheatley cited are an attachment included in the draft environmental impact statement on the future of Capitol Lake in Olympia, which was released by the state Department of Enterprise Services in June. DES was accepting comments on the draft report through Sunday, Aug. 29.
The EIS examines three options for the body of water that runs from Tumwater Falls on the Deschutes River to Budd Inlet’s West Bay: a managed lake, an estuary created by removal of the Fifth Avenue Dam, and a hybrid of the two. The port is mentioned often in the report because under the estuary and hybrid plans, maintenance dredging would have to occur to clear a buildup of sediment in the inlet.
The attachment is called the “navigation discipline report,” which was prepared for DES by Seattle-based Moffat & Nichol, an engineering and consulting firm.
Page 31 of the attachment includes the following:
“The port has indicated they would like to welcome Panamax and Neopanamax vessels — ships designed to pass through the Panama Canal — to their berths, which could require berth deepening and widening. This would also require coordination with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as any deepening and/or widening of the federal navigation channel and turning basin would require USACE authorization.”
But port officials said Thursday that’s not what they sent for inclusion in the draft EIS. Instead, in August 2020, this is what the port says it sent to a draft EIS technical team:
“Ideally, the Port would like the ability to berth partial Panamax and Neopanamax vessels that can maximize their laden drafts above the limitations we see today.”
In other words, the port has an interest in those ships, so long as they aren’t fully loaded.
“The Port has no plans to ‘deepen or widen’ its berthing area beyond current authorization,” the statement of correction reads.
The Port pointed out it has already welcomed a partially loaded ship of that size. In 2016, the M/V DN Vatan delivered a shipment of organic corn, according to the port.
The port says it plans to send a letter to DES.
“In the draft EIS letter, we state that the port would appreciate a correction to the Navigation Discipline Report to more accurately reflect the port’s current adopted planning documents.”
This story was originally published August 27, 2021 at 5:45 AM.
