Military shipments help to boost port's business
By Jim Szymanski
The Olympian
19 March 2006
http://www.theolympian.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060319/NEWS/60319012

OLYMPIA -- Despite the controversy over the war in Iraq, there is little
debate that it has boosted business at the Port of Olympia.

Nearly 40 cents on every dollar the port collected during the war has
come from military shipments of equipment moving to or from Iraq.

Ten of the 75 ships that have visited the port since military shipments
resumed in 2004, or about 13 percent, were filled with military cargo.

Further, of the $6.9 million in port revenue collected since the start
of the war, $2.6 million of it, or 38 percent, has come from war-related
shipments, port spokeswoman Patti Grant said.

"Not only has it been good in terms of revenue production, but in
keeping the longshore workers busy," she said.

The shipments have been controversial and have sparked occasional
protests. Protests crested in November 2004, when about 100 protesters
gathered at Port Plaza during a war shipment. Two of them tore a fence
loose and were arrested when they trespassed on private port property.

The port's three commissioners have vowed to continue taking military
shipments, including service to the Fort Lewis Army post in Pierce County.

"We're pleased the military transportation service has chosen the Port
of Olympia," Commissioner Bob Van Schoorl said. "We're happy to continue
to provide them the level of support they need."

Should the war end, the port would be willing to consider noncombat
military shipments, Van Schoorl said.

"This is an ongoing relationship beyond the war effort," he said.

Military shipments used to be routine at the Port of Tacoma. But as that
port's container service has grown, it has become more difficult for
military shipments to schedule visits.

That has presented Olympia with a new revenue opportunity, said marine
terminal director Jim Amador.

Accepting military shipments is part of Olympia's effort to diversify
from primarily a port exporting logs and importing aluminum. As those
markets ebb and flow, the military can be an important hedge.

"You're going to have companies come and go and markets go up and down,"
Amador said. "Serving the military is part of our overall plan to
diversify the cargo."

/Jim Szymanski is business editor for The Olympian. He can be reached at
360-357-0748 or jszymanski@theolympian.com./

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