THE Port of Tacoma and Japanese shipping line NYK are scaling back earlier plans to build a new large-scale container terminal on the port's Blair-Hylebos Peninsula because of weak demand.
The original 2007 plan would have led to the development of a new terminal on the east side of Tacoma's Blair Waterway for the exclusive use of NYK by July 2012. The 25-year lease signed in 2007 for the terminal called for both the port and NYK to share the cost of building the proposed terminal and supporting infrastructure.
Up till now, NYK Line has been calling at a terminal in Seattle that it shares with other shipping lines. Back in 2007, NYK said it would leave Seattle and move to nearby Tacoma as soon as its new terminal opened.
But the global downturn has prompted both sides to do a U-turn, with Tacoma port public relations manager Tara Mattina saying neither the port nor NYK wants to invest money in a facility that is bigger than the shipping line needs initially.
"We're talking with them now about what exactly they will need in July 2012, when they begin calling at Tacoma," Ms Mattina said. "We need to come up with the most cost-effective solution that works now and in the future."
It said that since the announcement in 2007, the port began design work, environmental analysis and the permit process to relocate the existing Totem Ocean Trailer Express (TOTE) terminal, build a new terminal for NYK Line, and improve roads, rail and utilities to support the entire redevelopment on the Blair-Hylebos Peninsula.
The proposed new terminal, together with NYK's own terminal at the Port of Los Angeles, was expected to form a key part of the company's plans to enhance container services between Asia and the west coast.
The original 2007 plan would have led to the development of a new terminal on the east side of Tacoma's Blair Waterway for the exclusive use of NYK by July 2012. The 25-year lease signed in 2007 for the terminal called for both the port and NYK to share the cost of building the proposed terminal and supporting infrastructure.
Up till now, NYK Line has been calling at a terminal in Seattle that it shares with other shipping lines. Back in 2007, NYK said it would leave Seattle and move to nearby Tacoma as soon as its new terminal opened.
But the global downturn has prompted both sides to do a U-turn, with Tacoma port public relations manager Tara Mattina saying neither the port nor NYK wants to invest money in a facility that is bigger than the shipping line needs initially.
"We're talking with them now about what exactly they will need in July 2012, when they begin calling at Tacoma," Ms Mattina said. "We need to come up with the most cost-effective solution that works now and in the future."
It said that since the announcement in 2007, the port began design work, environmental analysis and the permit process to relocate the existing Totem Ocean Trailer Express (TOTE) terminal, build a new terminal for NYK Line, and improve roads, rail and utilities to support the entire redevelopment on the Blair-Hylebos Peninsula.
The proposed new terminal, together with NYK's own terminal at the Port of Los Angeles, was expected to form a key part of the company's plans to enhance container services between Asia and the west coast.