Salmon net pens Elliott Bay Seattle Washington

View of restaurant cafe along the waterfront Seattle Washington

Pier 86 Grain Terminal Seattle waterfront Seattle Washington

The Port of Seattle is a

government agency A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administrati ...

overseeing the

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as ...

and

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

, Washington, United States. With a portfolio of properties ranging from parks and waterfront real estate, to one of the largest airports and container terminals on the West Coast, the Port of Seattle is one of the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Thou ...

's leading economic engines. Its creation was approved by the voters of

King County King County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 13th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle, also the st ...

on September 5, 1911, and authorized by the Port District Act. The Port of Seattle is managed by a five-member Port Commission who are elected by the voters of

and serve four-year terms. The Commissioners govern the Port, lead all inter-governmental functions, and oversee the

Executive Director Executive director is commonly the title of the chief executive officer of a non-profit organization, government agency or international organization. The title is widely used in North American and European not-for-profit organizations, though ...

History

Creation

The Port of Seattle was created by the state of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

in 1911, with a view to regaining public control over the waterfront of Seattle. By Washington State's Port District Act, the port construction plan had to be presented and voted upon before construction could start. One of the biggest factors that swayed the votes in favor of creating the port was the prospect of economic growth.Oldham Kit. "Port of Seattle's Commissioners Meet for the First Time September 12, 1911". Historylink.org essay 9726. February 16, 2011. The first Commission Report for 1912 records that: "The Port of Seattle came into existence on September 5, 1911, by a vote of the people of the Port District held on that date in accordance with the Port District Act of March 14, 1911. The work of the commission for the first six months was confined almost entirely to the preparation of projects which were duly approved by the people at a special election held on March 5, 1912."

Development and growth

Port construction began in 1913 with the creation of a home port for the local fishermen; this terminal was completed in 1914 and became the Northern Pacific Fishing Fleet's home of operations. It took over 20 years to get the port up and running due to opposing positions on the board regarding public port legislation, and the balance of economic benefits as against disadvantages. The creation of the Port of Seattle provided facilities for an expansion of shipping trade, later including

container shipping Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers and ISO containers). Containerization is also referred as "Container Stuffing" or "Container Loading", which is the pr ...

, generating increasing economic activity in the area. The

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

halted much of the global shipping trade and negatively impacted the economy. In 1949 the U.S. Department of Commerce designated a foreign-trade zone in the port. The port has grown rapidly throughout the years. In 1993 the Bell Street Pier, constructed in 1915, was relocated. Construction began again on the pier in 1988 with the development of the World Trade Center of Seattle. In the early 2000s the Bell Street Pier Cruise Terminal opened, creating employment and economic opportunities in the tourism business. Improvements to security were put in hand following the September 11th attack. As of 2010 the port was continuing to expand as well as create records for cargo holding and efficiency. To mark the centennial in 2011, the Port of Seattle created a historical file with photos and information about the port's and the region's history. Today the port is still a major contributor to the Seattle economy.

Alliance with Tacoma

On October 7, 2014, the Port of Seattle and Port of Tacoma announced an agreement to "jointly market and operate the marine terminals of both ports as a single entity," though they were not merging. Joint operations began with the formation of the

Northwest Seaport Alliance The Northwest Seaport Alliance is a port authority based in the Puget Sound region of the United States, comprising the seaports of Seattle and Tacoma in Washington state. The combined port authority is the third largest cargo port in the Uni ...

on August 4, 2015, creating the third-largest cargo gateway in the United States; by the end of the year, it reported more than 3.5 million

twenty-foot equivalent unit The twenty-foot equivalent unit (abbreviated TEU or teu) is an inexact unit of cargo capacity, often used for container ships and container ports.Rowlett, 2004. It is based on the volume of a intermodal container, a standard-sized metal box whi ...

s handled by the two ports, an increase of 4 percent.

Long-term impoundment

Porsche 959 The Porsche 959 is a sports car manufactured by German automobile manufacturer Porsche from 1986 to 1993, first as a Group B rally car and later as a road legal production car designed to satisfy FIA homologation regulations requiring at leas ...

imported by

Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions ...

and

Paul Allen Paul Gardner Allen (January 21, 1953 – October 15, 2018) was an American business magnate, computer programmer, researcher, investor, and philanthropist. He co-founded Microsoft Corporation with childhood friend Bill Gates in 1975, whic ...

was stored at the Port of Seattle for 13 years from 1987 by the

Customs Service Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...

, until regulations were changed to allow vehicles of "historical or technological significance" to be imported with severe limitations on their use. Gates and Allen both helped pass the " Show or Display" law.

Current issues

In 2007, Tay Yoshitani joined the organization as CEO. Major scandals soon followed the start of his tenure. The port police department uncovered a significant problem with racist and pornographic emails. After the hiring of a new chief, the organization began to regain its footing, only to be thrust in the spotlight again by former CEO Mic Dinsmore, who claimed a sizable severance had been authorized by the commission. The organization refused to pay and the claim was dropped, though the situation led to an attempted recall of one commissioner. In December that year, the State Auditor's Office issued a critical report on the port's contracting practices (particularly those related to construction of the third runway). The audit report sparked an investigation by the Department of Justice, which was later closed without action. Newly elected commissioners and CEO Yoshitani implemented a series of reforms, including increased commission oversight of port construction projects and consolidation of the organization's procurement activities into one division to afford better control. Yoshitani also increased commitment to environmental practices. The port has many environmental programs, including shore power for cruise ships and a plan to clean up the Lower Duwamish Waterway (in partnership with Boeing, King County, and the City of Seattle). Increased container and cruise traffic has however increased community concerns, just as the new runway did. In 2012, port commissioners began outreach on the Century Agenda, a strategic plan for the port's next 25 years. That same year, the Port became one of the most vocal opponents of the proposal to build a new arena in the Stadium District, which they said would cause issues for its operations. The City of Seattle studied the port's concerns at length and found them to be lacking in factual data or extensive studies. In 2015, an agreement to berth

Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New ...

semi-submersible Semi-submersible may refer to a self-propelled vessel, such as: * Heavy-lift ship, which partially submerge to allow their cargo (another ship) to float into place for transport *Narco-submarine, some of which remained partially on the surface * ...

offshore drilling Offshore drilling is a mechanical process where a wellbore is drilled below the seabed. It is typically carried out in order to explore for and subsequently extract petroleum that lies in rock formations beneath the seabed. Most commonly, the t ...

rigs at the Port's Terminal 5 led to protests against Arctic drilling. Portofseattle

Port management

Current Port Commissioners

Former Port Commissioners

''This list comes from a book published in 1976 and current (2015 and beyond) events. Research ongoing for the rest of the names and terms.'' *

Hiram M. Chittenden Hiram Martin Chittenden (October 25, 1858 – October 9, 1917) was an American engineer and historian. A graduate of West Point, he was the Seattle district engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers from 1906 to 1908). Chittenden was one of ...

– 1912–15 *C. E. Remsberg – 1912–19 *Robert Bridges – 1912–19 *Dr. Carl A. Ewald – 1915–19 *

T. S. Lippy Thomas or Tom S. Lippy (c. 1860 – 1931) was an American millionaire and philanthropist who became wealthy as a prospector in the Klondike Gold Rush. Lippy was the athletic director of or an instructor at the Seattle YMCA, before he and his ...

– 1918–21 *W. D. Lincoln – 1919–32 *Dr. W. T. Christensen – 1919–22 *George B. Lamping – 1921–33 *George F. Cotterill – 1922–34 *Smith M. Wilson – 1932–42 *Horace P. Chapman – 1933–47 *J. A. Earley – 1934–51 *E. H. Savage – 1942–58 *A. B. Terry – 1947–48 *Gordon Rowe – 1949–54 *C. H. Carlander – 1951–62 *M. J. Weber – 1954–60 *Capt. Tom McManus – 1958–64 *John M. Haydon – 1960–69 *Gordon Newell – 1960–63 *Frank R. Kitchell – 1961–73 *Miner H. Baker – 1963–69 *Robert W. Norquist – 1963–69 *Merle D. Adlum – 1964–? *J. Knox Woodruff – 1969–73 *Fenton Radford – 1969–70 *Paul S. Friedlander – 1970–? *Henry L. Kotkins – 1970–? *Jack S. Block – 1974–2001 *Henry T. Simonson – 1974–? *Ivar Haglund - 1983-85 *Pat Davis - 1985-2009 *Paige Miller - 1988-2005 *

Gael Tarleton Gael Frances Donelan Tarleton (January 1, 1959) is an American politician who served as a member of the Washington House of Representatives for the 36th Legislative District from 2013 to 2021. Tarleton was a candidate for Secretary of State of Wa ...

– 2008–2013 * Bill Bryant – 2008–2015 *Rob Holland – 2010–2013 *John Creighton – 2006–2018 *Tom Albro – 2010–2018 *Stephanie Bowman – 2014–2022 * Peter Steinbrueck – 2018–2022

General Managers and CEOs

*J.R. West – 1933–1935 *Col. W.C. Bickford – 1935–1945 *Col. Warren D. Lamport – 1946–1951 *George T. Treadwell – 1951–1953 *Howard M. Burke – 1953–1964 *J. Eldon Opheim – 1964–1977 *Richard D. Ford – 1977–1985 *James D. Dwyer – 1985–1988 *Zeger van Asch van Wijck – 1989–1992 *Mic R. Dinsmore – 1992–2007 *Tay Yoshitani – 2007–2014 *Ted J. Fick – 2014–2017 *Dave Soike (interim) – 2017 *Stephen Metruck – 2017–present

Sister ports

* Kobe port,

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

– 1967 *

Port of Shanghai The Port of Shanghai (), located in the vicinity of Shanghai, comprises a deep-sea port and a river port. The main port enterprise in Shanghai, the Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG), was established during the reconstitution of the S ...

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

– 1979 * Taichung port,

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeas ...

History

Creation

Development and growth

Alliance with Tacoma

Long-term impoundment

Current issues

Port management

Current Port Commissioners

Former Port Commissioners

General Managers and CEOs

Sister ports

See also

References

External links

Photos

Archives