POAH to Cease Operations at Port of Oakland

Over the past several weeks, the Outer Harbor Terminal at the Port of Oakland has experienced slowdowns and delays in cargo throughput. Today, Oakland Port Director John Driscoll released the below announcement to stakeholders, which may shed light on the terminal's recent slowdowns.

Dear Stakeholders, 

Today, Outer Harbor Terminal (formerly known as Ports America Outer Harbor) announced they will cease marine terminal operations in Oakland. They have indicated vessel operations will cease in approximately 30 days. Although this announcement is disappointing, the Port of Oakland is working with our maritime stakeholders to minimize any impacts of this change.   

As the maritime industry continues to evolve, change is expected. Prior to this announcement, the Port had already been in and continues discussions regarding reconfiguration of Oakland operations. At the same time, Oakland marine terminals continue to improve and update landside operations to handle more volume more efficiently. We expect vessels currently calling Outer harbor Terminal will shift their call to adjacent terminals – TraPac, Everport or Oakland International Container Terminal/SSA. We anticipate little-to-no loss of vessel calls or cargo volume at the Port of Oakland and view this change as an opportunity to utilize available capacity at other terminals, improve efficiency and attract new tenants.  

We promise to keep you informed of developments as quickly as possible. Our team at the Port is ready to answer questions you may have, and our contact information is shown below. We will also be sharing new information through our daily operational e-mail messages. It is our objective to communicate with all of our stakeholders during this transition period.

Despite the departure of Ports America, we are confident in the future of our seaport. We have three strong terminal operators. Major projects underway at the Port to support our customer's business needs include the development of a 370,000 sq. ft. cold supply chain facility on 23 acres, expansion of grain transload capabilities, our new $100 million rail storage and manifest tracks, and a partnership with CenterPoint Properties to build the Seaport Logistics Complex on the site of the former Oakland Army Base.

Thank you for your business. We will keep in close touch as this transition takes place.

Sincerely,

John Driscoll

If you have any questions or concerns about this announcement, please feel free to contact us via phone or email.