b'SEPTEMBER 28 - OCTOBER 11, 2020project cargo bi-annual7SPONSORED CONTENTPort of Vancouver USA adeptly moving record wind cargo unitsBy Paul Scott Abbott, AJOTThe scores of wind energyrently undergoing traditional blades being shipped throughsummertime repairs.thePortofVancouverUSAThisyearhasbeenan include the longest such proj- ongoing story of overcoming ectcargounitsevertocrosschallenges,Strogensaid, thedocksofaWestCoastwhetherCOVID-19orthe port.Indeed,eachofthesecatastrophic wildfires, which, enormous blades is nearly theamong other things, have dis-length of a football field. placedmanyportlaborers ThePortofVancouverand their families. That said, USAontheColumbiaweve kept the cargo moving River in Washington stateissafely and swiftly.surmountingexternalchal- Port officials have collab-lengesfrombothCOVID- orated with the International 19andPacificNorthwestLongshoreandWarehouseExpert workers from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union ensure the safe, efficient placement wildfires to adeptly handle a(ADEPTLYcontinued onof 250-foot-long wind energy blades on extended trailers as the units are offloaded from a G2 Ocean vessel half-dozenshiploadsofthepage 8) that brought them from China. massiveprojectcargofor deployment at a leading-edge Canadian wind farm.Overthecourseoftwo decadesofleadershipin movingwindcargos,Port ofVancouverUSAofficials havepointedtotheglobal hubsideallocation,about 100milesupriverfromthe PacificOcean,aswellas availability of abundant lay-downarea,superbcargo-handlinginfrastructureand plentifulexperiencedlabor. For these latest shipments, the portalsoisexpertlycoordi-nating the 1,100-mile inland move while bringing in addi-tional union dockworkers.P orto vercomiNGc halleNGesThebiggestchallenge hands-down for this has been puttingallthepiecesofthe puzzletogetherfortheroad clearancesoutsidethegate oftheport,AlexStrogen, the Port of Vancouver USAs chief commercial officer, told AJOT. The effort has entailed working closely with special-izedtruckingpartners,plus officialsoffourU.S.states, togettheoversizedcargo moving across roadways cur-Alex Strogen, chief commercial officer of the Port of Vancouver USA, is pleased with how the Washington state facility is overcoming external challenges as it moves the longest wind energy blades to ever be discharged at a U.S. West Coast port.'