The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are prepping for their 2024 State of the Port lunch gatherings, with tickets now on sale for both events.
Both ports are ending 2023 on somewhat of a high note, having seen upticks in cargo over the past few months — a welcome change from earlier in the year.
Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, will provide an outline of that port’s 2024 priorities at the luncheon event from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 10 at the Los Angeles World Cruise Center, 100 Swinford St., Berth 93, in San Pedro. Individual tickets, priced at $125 each, are on sale now and can be purchased through Eventbrite. The annual kick-off to the port’s new year is sponsored by the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association.
Sponsorships are also available for contributions, with proceeds going to two nonprofits organizations: EXP, which provides youth maritime education programming to thousands of local high school students each year, and the International Seafarers Center of Los Angeles/Long Beach, which offers services to seafarers arriving daily at the twin ports.
Seroka, the keynote speaker, will provide Port of Los Angeles updates and outline strategic priorities and plans for 2024.
The State of the Port, said PMSA President John McLaurin, “has become the biggest networking event of the year for Southern California’s maritime industry professionals.”
“The Year of Rail,” meanwhile, will be the focus when the Port of Long Beach turns its attention to 2024 with CEO Mario Cordero’s annual address, set for 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Jan. 17.
That event, which will take place in the Grand Ballroom of the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, will feature networking, lunch and Cordero’s keynote address.
The coming year will mark the official start of construction for the massive Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility at the Port of Long Beach. The first bid goes out in early 2024 for the $1.567 billion facility, which will be built in phases and is scheduled to be completed in 2032.
More than 15 years have gone into the planning for the project, which is designed to move cargo more efficiently and add to ongoing efforts to clean the environment by cutting down on port-related truck traffic in the region.
This week, U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Long Beach, announced he had helped secure $283 million in federal funds for the project.
Invites for the Long Beach event should go out later this week, according to a port spokesperson, and attendees will be asked to RSVP.
But the public can also see it streamed live at 12:25 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 17, at polb.com/stateoftheport.