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At their Feb. 3 meeting, The Northwest Seaport Alliance Managing Members will welcome a new commissioner and Managing Member Co-Chair leadership for 2026. New Port of Tacoma Commissioner JT Wilcox will join the Managing Members, which will be led by Port of Tacoma Commission President Dick Marzano and Port of Seattle Commission President Ryan Calkins.
During the meeting, Managing Members will take action on infrastructure and repair improvements at Terminal 7, and hear a first reading of the Master Benefits and Salaries Resolution.
Staff will be providing briefings on the Port Community System as well as the 2025 Q4 Grant Update and 2026 Grant Forecast.
View the full agenda
The meeting begins at 11 a.m. Meetings are streamed live from the NWSA’s website.
To deliver comments during the public comment portion of the meeting, please send an email to nwsacomment@nwseaportalliance.com by 9 a.m. Monday, February 2, 2026, that includes your name, the telephone number you will be calling from and the agenda topic you wish to speak to. Please include “speaker” in the subject line. Written comments may be submitted to the same email address and will be provided to the commissioners.
The Northwest Seaport Alliance welcomes exciting news from UWL and Emirates Shipping Line regarding the Sun Chief Express service. Beginning in June 2026, the service will transition from fortnightly (every two weeks) to weekly sailings, significantly enhancing direct maritime connectivity between Vietnam and the NWSA gateway.
The upgraded service will offer industry-leading transit times – just 18 days from Ho Chi Minh City and 15 days from Shekou, China, to Seattle. This expansion responds to robust market growth in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, providing shippers with faster, more predictable supply chains with greater schedule reliability, scalable capacity and fixed-day departures.
Over the past several years, the NWSA has engaged in targeted outreach to deepen trade connections between the Pacific Northwest and Vietnam. This enhanced service strengthens this growing partnership and delivers meaningful benefits to both regions.
Read the full press release here.
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In December, Tacoma's waterfront said goodbye to two familiar giants, the ship-to-shore cranes IHI 2078 (built in 1979) and Sumitomo 2403 (built in 1986). The cranes were loaded onto a heavy-lift barge and towed out of Commencement Bay on Dec. 18, headed for the Port of Bellingham where they were recycled.
By removing the cranes whole via barge instead of dismantling on site, the NWSA minimized disruption to ongoing cargo activities at the terminal. The departure creates valuable pier space, eliminates ongoing maintenance costs and allows the NWSA to focus resources on the future while honoring the history these cranes represent.
Watch the crane removal time-lapse here.
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The Northwest Seaport Alliance announced the winners of monetary awards in the first measurement period of its Voyage Consistency & On-Time Arrival Award Program. This two-period program, running through May 2026, recognizes and rewards international ocean carriers for their commitment to schedule reliability, which delivers significant service benefits across the gateway's supply chain.
The first period, which was 13 weeks long and concluded in November, saw 100% participation by carriers calling the gateway. Three services achieved the service eligibility requirements for a financial award.
The top three performing services earned financial awards as follows:
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1st Place: Gemini Cooperation (Hapag-Lloyd, Maersk), WC4 | TP5
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2nd Place: Premier Alliance (HMM, ONE, Yang Ming), PN3
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3rd Place: Westwood Service, Swire Shipping
Read the full release here.
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Looking back at 2025, we see a year marked by unparallelled uncertainty in global shipping, yet in our NWSA gateway, we made strategic investments, strengthened partnerships, and continued our commitment to best-in-class service for shippers and the supply chain to drive economic benefits for our entire region.
Economic Impact and Operational Excellence
A comprehensive economic impact analysis released in July 2025 confirmed the NWSA's substantial contribution to our regional economy. The alliance supported 52,100 jobs and generated $14 billion in business output across Washington state. Combined with Port of Seattle and Port of Tacoma operations, the gateway supported more than 265,000 jobs, $17.7 billion in wages and benefits and nearly $55 billion in total business output in 2023.
The NWSA's operational excellence earned recognition as the top West Coast port in Logistics Management's 42nd Annual Quest for Quality Awards, achieving the highest overall score with top ratings in value, intermodal network, and equipment and operations.
Infrastructure and Supply Chain Expansion
The gateway continues growing with strategic partnerships. Floor & Decor opened its first Pacific Northwest distribution center in Frederickson, a 1.1 million-square-foot facility that began operations in July 2025.
In a groundbreaking development, the NWSA and Puyallup Tribe of Indians announced a historic partnership in March 2025 to construct a new terminal on the East Blair Waterway. This first-of-its-kind collaboration between a Tribe and port authority will expand berth capacity while creating employment opportunities for Tribal members.
Environmental Progress
The NWSA is advancing toward its goal of eliminating seaport-related emissions by 2050 or sooner. Husky Terminal completed its shore power system in June 2025, becoming the second international terminal allowing vessels to plug into the grid instead of running diesel engines at berth.
The transition to zero-emission trucks accelerated with the April 2025 release of the Decarbonizing Drayage Roadmap, featuring nearly 70 recommendations for the region's 5,000 drayage drivers. This was followed by a $6.2 million incentive program to deploy 19 zero-emission trucks and charging infrastructure supporting up to 250 vehicles daily.
Looking ahead to 2026, the NWSA remains committed to operational excellence, customer service and strategic growth that benefits shippers, carriers and the communities surrounding the Seattle and Tacoma harbors.
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