DATE: Monday, March 3, 1997                 TAG: 9703010005

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B10  EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: OPINION 

SOURCE: BY CHARLES BOOKMAN 

                                            LENGTH:   69 lines

U.S. PORTS NEED TO MODERNIZE TO COMPETE

Many of America's great cities grew up around ports. But today those ports are at risk of being neglected - a disturbing prospect as the nation competes in an increasingly dynamic global economy.

Many U.S. ports have narrow navigation channels, shallow harbors, obsolete loading facilities and congested truck and rail access routes.

The harbor at Newark, N.J., is so shallow that very large ships often have to unload part of their cargo elsewhere before they can dock there. It took the Port of Oakland 20 years to begin the first phase of a channel-deepening project because of a needlessly complex web of environmental regulations.

Contrast these conditions with those in the European city of Rotterdam, one of the most sophisticated seaports in the world. The channel is 50 feet deep, large enough for megacarriers now on the drawing board. State-of-the-art cranes can load or unload 30 containers per hour. An elaborate waterways-management system tracks vessels and significantly reduces disruptions.

Or consider the new container facility planned for Japan's Port of Yokohama. To be built on 535 acres reclaimed from Tokyo Bay, the port will include vessel berths more than 49 feet deep, a modern container terminal covering 138 acres, and ample storage and distribution areas and access roads.

In contrast, many aspects of U.S. ports are relics from midcentury. Without significant investments, they increasingly will be outclassed by ports elsewhere. And with the movement of freight by sea expected to triple over the next two decades, subpar ports will drag down the entire U.S. economy.

Ports traditionally have relied on state and local governments for financing and modernization. Yet too often ports are orphaned in regional planning processes. Taxpayers and voters are more attuned to the benefits of new roads, parks and other facilities, even though ports often determine the economic vitality of entire regions.

Port authorities also can find themselves pulled in many different directions. Commercial interests include waterfront industries, manufacturers of all types and commodities brokers. The public enjoys boating and waterfront activities and is interested in protecting the coastal environment. At least 10 major federal environmental laws affect the port industry.

Leadership is essential. In each port region, some group or organization needs to step forward and mediate among stakeholders, educate the public about maritime issues and ensure that regional planning efforts take ports into account.

Strategically planned port construction and upgrades can be expensive. But there are now ways to make such projects more affordable.

New ports can be built in less densely populated areas. Offshore artificial islands, such as those being built by the Port of Los Angeles, can accommodate large ships and reduce the need for long shallow channels.

When regional planners consider improvements to highways and railroads, they need to consider ports as well. Today, access routes to many ports are jammed with trucks and cars, and rail feeder lines that cross local streets further tie up traffic. Regional planning and transportation officials should recognize the importance of better road and rail access to ports.

The federal government can help establish a national interest in maintaining safe and efficient ports and waterways. By offering funding incentives to state and local governments, it can foster and support plans to upgrade ports. The challenge is to develop incentives for all types of port improvements without sacrificing the tradition of state and local control.

U.S. ports can become the transportation superhighways that we need in the 21st century, but the process must begin now. Expanding and modernizing port capacity is a long-term job, and many other nations are far ahead of us. MEMO: Charles Bookman is director of the National Research Council's

Marine Board in Washington, D.C.

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