Port of Tacoma Commissioners Kristin Ang and Deanna Keller on January 17 took the ceremonial oath of office after Pierce County voters re-elected them in November. Commissioners approved assignments for Commission Boards and Work Groups and heard a briefing from U.S. Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer Robert Simcox about his time spent at the Port as part of the USCG Marine Environmental Protection Industry Training program.

For Vanessa Walker, it was a big moment.

Walker became interested in welding by watching videos, and on an early December visit to the Port of Tacoma’s maintenance building got a chance to try it for the first time.

“That was pretty cool. I can definitely see myself doing this as a career,” Walker said.

Walker attends Willie Stewart Academy and joined a group of high school students on their second tour of the Port, which focused on the variety of jobs in the maintenance department.

Port of Tacoma maintenance staff showed the students how to weld and talked about career opportunities at the Port and in the maritime and industrial trades.

Take a boat ride with Tony Warfield and you’ll glimpse the future. Warfield is a Senior Project Manager in the Port of Tacoma’s environmental department. On a trip into the Blair Waterway, home to three international container terminals on property managed by The Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA), Warfield explained that across the industry, ships are being built bigger.

Port of Tacoma Commissioners on December 19 approved a collective bargaining agreement with the Port Workers Group and a service contract for workforce training and internship pathways. Commissioners also approved the slate of commission officers for 2024, some international travel, and the purchase of a property on Ross Way.

Tis the season for red and green…salmon? Chum salmon return to the watershed to spawn just in time for the holidays. They arrive wearing the equivalent of a human’s Christmas sweater (red calico stripes on a green body) to signal their readiness to party! Er, propagate...

At their December 19 meeting, Port of Tacoma Commissioners designated commission officer positions for the upcoming year, with Kristin Ang serving as commission president and John McCarthy as vice president for 2024. The commission president also serves as co-chair of The Northwest Seaport Alliance.

SEATTLE, WA — December 12, 2023 — The Port of Tacoma (POT) and the Port of Seattle (POS) joined the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in ceremonies marking design agreements for the Seattle Navigation Improvement Project and the Tacoma Harbor Navigation Improvement Project.

On a clear and cold November night, a team of Port of Tacoma employees volunteered to place cages of mussels in Commencement Bay precisely at zero tide, which arrived around 10. The mussels were deployed to check for contaminants. But at two of the three Port sites, volunteers ran into challenges...

Port of Tacoma Commissioners on November 21 approved entering into a design agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to deepen the Blair Waterway to accommodate larger ships.