THE PORT OF Port Angeles’ Terminal 3 has been busy for the past couple of weeks with cargo ships taking on logs.
Last week, Ince Point, a 509-foot-long vessel, departed Port Angeles for Taicang, China, with approximately 5.9 million board feet of logs harvested from Merrill & Ring’s private land holdings in Western Washington.
This week, the 478-foot cargo ship Global Hero is dockside, taking on about 5 million board feet of logs bound for China.
When it leaves Port Angeles, Astoria Bay will be next up in the queue. It is due to arrive in Port Angeles on Nov. 3.
Log exports
Invariably, when log exports are mentioned in this column, I field phone calls and emails from readers whose perception is that the exported logs are processed into lumber that is used to build furniture and knickknacks that are then imported back to the United States for sale in big-box stores.
Some carry the argument further by posing the notion that exporting logs is an example of manufacturing jobs leaving the United States for China and Korea.
The reality is that virtually all of the logs exported to China are hemlock, which is a softwood used almost exclusively in general building construction.
The predominant construction material for commercial buildings and residential housing — both of which are typically high-rise buildings — is concrete.
Hemlock is an ideal product from which to build the forms necessary to erect these structures.
Not only is the wood easy to work with, but an added bonus is that the forms can be reused a number of times.
This week, the Port of Port Angeles’ Terminal 1 is playing host to Reuben Lasker, a fishery survey vessel operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
I understand the vessel is in port to take on stores and some electronic equipment.
Armstrong Marine, the aluminum-boat manufacturer on U.S. Highway 101 midway between Port Angeles and Sequim, recently launched Alkoa, a 35-foot catamaran that was built for a client in Newport Beach, Calif., who will, among other uses, go to Catalina Island from Newport Beach.
Given that the boat is powered by twin 300-horsepower outboard motors, those 26 miles should fly by in the blink of an eye.
Shave and haircut
Platypus Marine, the full-service shipyard, yacht repair facility and steel-boat manufacturer on Marine Drive in Port Angeles, hauled out the Puget Sound Pilot Boat Juan de Fuca on Monday for a shave and a haircut and a buff and a wax.
I also saw that the boat crew was servicing the jet drives.
My understanding is it will be back in the water by Friday evening.
Platypus has Michael Lisa sitting on the hard. It is a steel 53-foot commercial fishing vessel that fishes out of Westport, Wash.
Personnel are going to make some serious modifications to this vessel.
Initially, all of the gear will be removed, the mast will be taken off and the wheelhouse will be removed.
The mast and wheelhouse will be replaced with new aluminum structures.
Sponsons will be added to the boat, and the seiner will eventually measure 58 feet in length with a 25-foot beam.
I suspect as time goes on, we’ll see more and more of these type of projects at Platypus because this type of modification can bring an older vessel more updated capabilities while avoiding the costly Coast Guard regulations and inspections that are required on new vessels built after July 1, 2012.
Harbor happenings
On Thursday, Tesoro Petroleum provided bunkers to British Courage, a 755-foot liquefied propane carrier that then got underway for South Korea.
Tesoro also bunkered Vinjerac, a 640-foot tanker that is flagged in Croatia.
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David G. Sellars is a Port Angeles resident and former Navy boatswain’s mate who enjoys boats and strolling the area’s waterfronts and boat yards.
Items and questions involving boating, marina and industrial activities and the North Olympic Peninsula waterfronts are always welcome. News announcements about boating groups, including yacht clubs and squadrons, are welcome as well.
Email dgsellars@hotmail.com or phone him at 360-808-3202.
