What’s going on at Port of Bellingham? An update on projects, The Portal and more
You may have taken a drive down to Bellingham’s waterfront and wondered, “What’s that new building?” or “What’s with all the noise?”
We reached out to Michael Hogan, Port of Bellingham’s public affairs administrator, to give you an update on what the Port is working on. Here’s the latest update:
Snow removal building at the airport
The Port just finished construction on a large building to store snow-removal supplies and equipment at Bellingham International Airport. The building was first announced back in 2022, when the airport was awarded about $2.7 million for the building, according to previous reporting by The Bellingham Herald.
Portal Container Village expansion
In June 2022, port officials first announced that they would be expanding one of Bellingham’s most popular summer spots, The Portal Container Village.
The new containers arrived at The Portal as of Jan. 17, Hogan wrote in an email to The Bellingham Herald.
Two new restaurants, Zeek’s Pizza and Bin 13 Wine Bar, are expected to open in May, as well as an “additional retail space dedicated to showcasing the talent of local artists,” a news release from the Port states. Portal Putt, an outdoor miniature golf course that opened in 2022, is also expanding and adding nine more holes to its course for the 2024 season.
The Hannah seafood processing ship
The Port and Northline Seafoods are working together on The Hannah, a new “one-of-a-kind platform that will buy, freeze, ship, store and distribute Bristol Bay salmon — all onboard a single vessel,” according to the Northline Seafoods website.
“A Bristol Bay salmon may change hands a dozen times before getting to a customer,” the website states. “Every move is a risk to salmon quality, and every step requires more fuel and manpower to get the salmon from point A to point B.”
Every summer The Hannah will go to Bristol Bay, Alaska, to buy salmon from fishermen, freeze the fish and then come back down to Bellingham Bay, where the salmon will be stored, reprocessed and distributed, according to previous reporting by The Bellingham Herald.
The 400-foot by 100-foot boat will be the “world’s most sustainable and efficient mobile commercial salmon processing platform” and function year-round, with the capacity to store over 14 million pounds of frozen product.
“With one barge we simplify the path between catch and the customer. Northline Seafoods can buy, freeze, ship, store and reprocess Bristol Bay salmon on one vessel — eliminating costs and improving quality in the process.”
No construction completion target date has been announced.
I&J Waterway clean up
The Port will move forward on the plans for the multi-million-dollar clean-up of the I&J Waterway this summer.
The clean-up site is a 3.1 acre area in Bellingham Bay that has contaminated marine sediments in the waterway and nearby ship-berthing areas, according to the project website. Construction for the cleanup is planned to begin this summer.
Shipping terminal modernization project
The Port is just beginning to work on a two-year project to modernize the Bellingham Shipping Terminal to create working waterfront jobs.
Dredging for the project is about to begin, according to Hogan.
“This $27.5 Million project will fortify the main dock to allow heavy cargo and equipment, increase the navigation depth to allow a much wider range of potential cargo, install a state-of-the-art stormwater management system to protect Puget Sound, and create family-wage jobs throughout the region,” The Port’s website states.
The new jobs the project aims to create will include shipyard and rail workers, freight forwarders, longshoreman and truckers.
The project is planned to conclude in 2025.
