Megaship CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin called on Long Beach for the first time in December. Megaships require infrastructure accommodations, including channel dredging, due to their enormous size.
A port funding request that could provide revenues for dredging as the Los Angeles/Long Beach port complex prepares for the new megaships moved forward last week when the House Committee on Appropriations included it in a draft bill.
U.S. Rep. Janice Hahn’s request for $1.26 billion — which, if eventually approved, would be divvied up among all the nation’s ports — was included in the preliminary version of the 2017 Energy and Water Appropriations bill.
The money would go into the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, which is used to pay for critical infrastructure projects at the nation’s ports. Among those changes are megaships that often require infrastructure accommodations, including channel dredging, due to their enormous size.
While the funding remains only in a request stage and is preliminary, Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said the additional revenue would help keep the port competitive in a global industry that is fast changing.