Yo, Mr. Yoshitani! Move This Ship!

Matson freighter Kauai blocks view at Bell St. Diner

That would be Tay Yoshitani, director of the Port of Seattle.

Forget tearing down the viaduct, we can't even get this effing eyesore off the supposedly recreational marina on Elliott Bay. It floats, remember? Couple of tugboats can move it, all 720 feet of the damn thing. It (or she, or whatever you call a container ship named Kauai) has been sitting there since October. A Port spokesman told a reporter in December that it didn't have space anywhere except the cruise ship terminal. But cruise ships don't linger, don't sleep on the couch and don't leave their dirty laundry lying around.

Matson, a worthy American-owned company, seems to have abandoned the vessel. No cargo's being loaded, no one's even aboard. If you're staying at the Marriott, across Alaska Way, your room overlooks the Kauai. If you're having lunch at Anthony's Bell St. Diner and expect a waterfront view of the Olympics across Elliott Bay, you're flat out of luck. You get a closeup view of a beige-brown, 28-year-old container ship instead.

It's inconceivable that Yoshitani and his staff are unaware of the blight on the public waterfront, since the Port's offices are just north of the bow. What's missing is a sense of outrage that nothing's being done. Here's an idea: the Port calls Matson with a straightforward message. "We love ya, dude, but it's time to pick up your ship and get the hell out of town."

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By Ronald in Miscellaneous on January 26, 2009 9:00 AM

Comments [rss]

Matt

Looks nice to me.

jdavin

So the Port is getting $18k per month and you (Daniel) call that no small change? I would say it *is* small change! Shipping companies make millions of dollars a month and $18k is a drop in the bucket. Also, look at this from a rental point of view - the ship is taking up a square footage area that is probably well over 10,000 sq ft. What would the rental rate on 10k+ of waterfront property be? I'd bet way over $18k/month.

The Port should double or quadruple their rate. If the shipping company really wants to leave a huge ship on the Seattle waterfront, make them sweat for it. Otherwise the Port is tacitly enabling a negative externality.

grid

i kind of like seeing the freighters close. they look more interesting than the cruise ships, and you can still view the olympics very well from other places in the city.

that said, if a lot of people find it an eyesore then their wishes should probably be accommodated somehow.

Daniel K

Let me provide that link again without a traling comma to break it: http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/edcetera/2008/12/17/yield_to_pier_pressure_move_th.html

BTW, who was saying "Move to Tacoma"?

Daniel K

And according to a comment here, http://blog.seattletimes.nwsource.com/edcetera/2008/12/17/yield_to_pier_pressure_move_th.html, the Port is taking in $18,000 a month - no small change. Should they not be putting the dock to use during the cruise ship off season?

Daniel K

Go ahead and make some noise.

I'm not defending the port, but when you've got a place for large ships to dock, large ships will dock there. That they're taking in money is better than if they were not.

Besides, don't you really think that the wealthy folks that live in the line of sight of the ship haven't already complained? It isn't as if this hasn't been in the news either: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008528828_bigship170.html

ronaldholden

Too easy to say, "Move to Tacoma." Defenders of the Port in this situation miss the point. Seattle has voted many times and is spending considerable public funds to beautify the city's central waterfront. The Port of Seattle's commercial interests should be in sync with the expressed policies of Seattle's citizenry, no? Right now, the Port is collecting revenue from Matson and has no incentive to move the Kauai...unless we citizens make some noise.

Daniel K

"civic beauty is not a luxury"

Actually, it is.

"The Port is collecting revenue from Matson"

And that's an issue?

ronaldholden

On the contrary, Daniel, civic beauty is not a luxury; we must not think of urban planning as something for the good times alone.

Besides, in this case, the ship was off-loaded in October. The Port is collecting revenue from Matson and thumbing its nose at Seattle citizens while claiming there's no other place for the Kauai. But when the cruise ships start coming again in spring, you can bet they'll find a berth. Why not, for example, off Harbor Island? Meantime, I'm sure Matson is unaware of the situation.

Daniel K

If you haven't noticed a lot of freight traffic has come to a stall because of the economic downturn. When people can't pay for goods they don't get delivered. Capacity needs are down. Goods are sitting at ports. Ships are anchored.

The "blight" is hardly at the forefront of anyone's concern at such a time.