surprises me. Is that a particular type of cargo, ingoing or outgoing, or does it represent total cargo? Mr. McCARL. I mentioned in the statement that this flow chart was prepared by the Pacific statistical region, South Pacific Division, Corps of Engineers, under the direction of the division engineer. They sent me a copy of it and it shows the ocean commerce. This is just ocean commerce, of course. The greater portion of our cargo is nonocean commerce. I have taken only the outgoing commerce because we are more of an exporting than an incoming port. These percentages represent the outgoing ocean commerce, and San Francisco is known around the world as a major port and we handle over three-fourths as much outgoing ocean commerce as they do. Mr. HAND. In tonnage? Mr. McCARL. Yes. That is because of bulk cement and bulk salt and incoming cargo of gypsum rock, principally. It represents deep-draft vessels and it means passing a lot of barges with gasoline and other commodities. It is dangerous with a narrow channel. It is not only the depth but the narrowness of the channel that causes great congestion and hazards. I have only one copy of these exhibits (A and B) available for filing with respective committees of the House and the Senate. You may hear from steamship associations as to the undesirability of adding new ports. Redwood City is not a new port and a lot of existing steamship lines want to come there. They have to get a certificate from the Interstate Commerce Commission on intercoastal traffic, and I am just bringing that out. Following the decision of the existing carriers to discontinue the handling of cargo from all ports via transshipment, three large steamship operators-the West Coast Trans-Oceanic Line of Portland, Oreg.; the General Steamship Corp. of San Francisco, Calif. (one of the oldest and most successful steamship organizations in the San Francisco Bay area) and Wright, Dichmann & Pugh of New York filed application with the ICC for authority to engage in intercoastal service, carrying lumber from Pacific Northwest ports and canned goods, dried fruit, and general cargo from the port of Redwood City in the eastbound service and general cargo in the westbound service. The examiner for the Commission recommended that authority requested be granted for the eastbound service. He recommended, particularly, the granting of authority to carry cargo from the port of Redwood City, due to the indisputable evidence presented by shippers as to their desire to ship from the port of Redwood City rather than from other ports. Due to the lack of adequate westbound cargo, however, to warrant the entry of a new service at this time, the requested authority for the two-way service was not granted. The newly proposed service contemplated the use of Liberty ships (442 feet in length) whereas some of the vessels of existing carriers (C-4's) are 523 feet in length. Shippers have been repeatedly told by existing steamship operators that they will not send their large vessels to the port of Redwood City under existing channel conditions. It is known that vessels in the domestic and foreign trade routes will call at the port regularly as soon as channel conditions are improved. Recently two large vessels called at the port to load magnesite, in bulk, for movement to Europe. The two shipments of magnesite were valued at approximately $500,000. The shipments were handled by the port at the bulk loading facilities of the Leslie Terminal Co. under a contractual arrangement between the port and the terminal company for the handling of commodities other than salt. One of the vessels involved was a C-3 type vessel owned by Luckenbach Steamship Co. which was under charter to the States Marine Lines. In proceeding up the entrance channel, one of the masts of the vessel struck and broke two high-tension wires of the Pacific Gas & Electric Co. which crossed the channel. The wires had a clearance above water of 125 feet mean high high water, which means 125 feet above the water at plus 8-foot tide. The wires were replaced tentatively by the electric company and when, at a subsequent date, the company applied to the Army engineers for a permit to place permanent wires at an elevation of 125 feet mean high high water, a protest was filed by the Pacific American Steamship Association-you may hear from them--who contended that the clearance was insufficient. They later approved a clearance of 135 feet mean high high water (see exhibit No. 1). This action of the Pacific American Steamship Association is evidence that they expect to be sending vessels of their member lines to the port of Redwood City, regardless of any testimony which might be presented in an effort to confuse the members of committees as to the undesirability of adding new ports. The port of Redwood City has already become established as one of the important deepwater ports of the San Francisco Bay district. Steamship operators in foreign trade routes both American flag and foreign flag-have expressed to representatives of the port and to shippers their willingness to have their vessels call at the port of Redwood City as soon as the channel has been deepened and widened and the turning basin enlarged. Vessels operating in common carrier service must be in a position to have their vessels enter and leave the port at any time during the day or night. This they cannot do at the present time. The two shipments of magnesite mentioned above are expected to be only the forerunner of a large movement to Europe, the Orient, and to the Atlantic coast following improvements to the channel. Mr. HAND. Where do you get the magnesite? Redwood Mr. MCCARL. From Moss Landing in Monterey County. City is about halfway between the point of shipment and San Francisco. The port of Redwood City is now the home port for three vessels owned and operated by the Permanente Cement Co., and the Kaiser Gypsum Co. During the past several years, a great many new industries and manufacturing plants have been located in the port's tributary territory and the population in the area has been increasing at an enormous rate. This will result, following improvements to the channel and establishment of steamship service on regular schedule, in a large amount of raw materials, manufactured goods, foodstuffs, and so forth, moving into and out of the port. This tonnage was not taken into account by the Army engineers in computing their benefit-cost ratio. As an example of new industries being recently located in the port's tributary territory, it might be well to mention the Ford Motor Co. plant which is now being constructed at a location only a few miles distant from the port of Redwood City. The investment involved in this plant is in the neighborhood of between $40 million to $50 million. Many, many other large plants and industries could be cited but such procedure would only burden the committee with what would appear to be entirely unwarranted and unnecessary. 4. Importance of the port to national defense (a) The port was used extensively during World War II by the Navy and for the handling of lend-lease goods. The improvement project for which item is now in the budget was approved by the Secretary of the Navy. (b) Commodities now handled in large volume-cement, salt, gypsum rock, and petroleum products-used in Government projects or by industries making products for the Government. 5. Additional expense to vessel operators and shippers Due to the necessity of having to wait for favorable tides, weather conditions and daylight hours in the movement of vessels into and out of the port, a great deal of expense is encountered by vessel operators and shippers. Bulk cement which moves out of the port in shipload lots and used extensively in government projects in the Pacific Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands is sold cheaper to the Government than cement which has to be transported in sacks. With improved channel conditions, resulting in lower costs to the Permanente Cement Co. which ships out of the port, most of the cement produced in its Permanente plant (one of the world's largest cement plants), it will be possible for the company to sell its product at lower rates to the Gov ernment. 6. Dangerous condition existing at the present time Four major oil companies-Standard of California, Union Oil Co. of California, Shell Oil Co. and Richfield Oil Co.-maintain facilities at the port for the receipt of gasoline in bulk by water and distribution. of same from storage tanks to tank trucks. During 1953, 477,099 tons of gasoline was discharged from 334 barges through pipeplines into storage tanks. This represents a movement of practically one large load of gasoline per day. On many of the days, several loads of gasoline are in the harbor at the same time. With the narrowness of the channel as it exists at the present time and the large number of other craft-oceangoing vessels and barges-now using the waterway, to say nothing of the additional craft expected to be added from year to year, the use of the waterway and port facilities by all craft becomes very hazardous. 7. Impossibility of efficient port operation under existing conditions Under existing conditions of the channel and turning basin, it is absolutely impossible to operate the port efficiently. At the municipal facilities there are berths available for three oceangoing vessels and one barge and at Leslie Terminal, where the port has a contract covering the handling of all commodities except salt, there is berthing space for one oceangoing vessel. In all there is sufficient berthing space at the port to accommodate four oceangoing vessels and one barge at one time. In addition, there is berthing space at the Ideal Cement Co., just below the municipal facilities, to accommodate several barges at one time. When a vessel is at municipal berth No. 1, it is almost impossible for vessels scheduled for berths 2 and 3 to make the turn in the turning basin and back into their respective berths. If a vessel is at municipal berth 2 or 3, it is not possible for a vessel going to or from Leslie Terminal to pass. If such a vessel is to be enabled to proceed to or from such berth, it is necessary that a vessel in berth 2 or 3 be shifted. If vessels happen to be in municipal berths 1, 2, and 3, and a vessel desires to proceed to or from Leslie Terminal or it is desired to berth a barge with bulk gasoline at municipal berth 4, it is not possible to make effective such operations. Some of the vessels or barges just have to wait until other vessels vacate their berths and clear the channel. (See exhibit No. 2.) 8. Supporting resolutions and communications Due to the limited time available for the preparation of communications and other evidences of support of the necessity of carrying out the work involved in the Redwood City Harbor improvement projects previously approved by Congress, work to be performed through funds made available by passage of the currently budgeted item for Redwood City Harbor, it has not been possible to bring to the attention of congressional committees any semblance of the supporting evidence that could be secured if ample time were available. However, a number of supporting communications have become available and copies of some of them are attached to this report. In the matter of local cooperation, the municipal authorities will provide spoil-disposal areas as required and set forth in House Document No. 94, 79th Congress, 1st session. On behalf of the Board of Port Commissioners of the city of Redwood City and all of the many interests who are vitally concerned in the approval by your committee and subsequently by Congress of the budgeted item of $1 million for immediate improvements to Redwood City Harbor, I wish to again express my appreciation for this opportunity to appear before you. The work to be performed through funds to be made available by approval of the item in question is of an emergency nature and to delay the work further would only result in undue hardship and great financial loss to the entire south San Francisco Bay area interests, many of whom have made large investments in and around the harbor on the strength of approval by Congress of the projects for which the requested funds are to be used. The Board of Port Commissioners of the port of Redwood City sincerely requests and urges your approval of the item in question in its entirety. Mr. HAND. That is a very impressive statement, Mr. McCarl. Some of the figures are surprising. Mr. McCARL. There are a lot of communications and resolutions adopted by various organizations, county and city, bay area council and industrial organizations, which are attached to the statement. In addition to that, there are several additional statements which I was going to read into the record. If I may, I should like to have copies of them made and furnish them to the clerk later. Mr. HAND. We will be glad to receive them. (The material referred to follows:) EXHIBIT No. 1 PACIFIC AMERICAN STEAMSHIP ASSOCIATION, Re Corps of Engineers, United States Army, Public Notice No. 54-9-Redwood Col. GEORGE H. WALKER, Corps of Engineers, Acting District Engineer, United States Army, San Francisco District, San Francisco 5, Calif. MY DEAR COLONEL: On September 2 we wrote to you on the above subject and indicated that the Pacific American Steamship Association's navigation committee had recommended to our board of directors that a minimum of 150 feet vertical clearance above mean higher high water would be necessary for the navigational safety of vessels. On September 25 the navigation committee of this association reevaluated its above-mentioned decision on the basis of new evidence which was presented to the committee, and the committee recommended that a minimum height of 135 feet would be satisfactory. The board of directors of the Pacific American Steamship Association has approved this new recommendation and has directed that your office be informed that a minimum of 135 feet vertical clearance above mean higher high water will be satisfactory for navigational safety. Very truly yours, ROBERT E. MAYER, President. EXHIBIT No. 2 Re: Steamship Jermanente Silvertow, Voyage No. 143, Redwood City, Calif., May 8, 1953. Mr. M. D. MCCARL, Port Manager, Redwood City, Calif. PERMANENTE STEAMSHIP CORP., DEAR MR. MCCARL: In regard to your question of my opinion of the port of Redwood from the point of piloting in and out of this port, allow me to state that the channel and port are not adequate for the size of the vessels using same. This vessel is of 455 feet length and 63 feet beam, loaded draft of 29 feet. I have been here for 32 years and do my own piloting. The channel is too narrow for a vessel of this size; other vessels, even barges, cannot be passed in the channel unless one or the other with light draft will get out of the channel. Two vessels of our size cannot pass even with light draft. This location has a prevailing westerly breeze, which blows across the channel and docks. When in light-load condition, it is most difficult to keep in the channel with this prevailing breeze as the channel is so narrow there is no room to allow for pointing into the wind to offset the vessel's drift. Further, the channel is only marked by spar buoys and cannot be run at night. Just yesterday came off the entrance to Redwood Creek, westerly wind about force five blowing; it was impossible to proceed into the creek with safety, making it necessary to anchor out for the night and come in this morning when the wind died, due to the narrowness of the channel for vessel of this size. Another very bad feature of the port is the fact that the turning basin is east of the docks. Due to the restricted depth of water, it is very difficult to turn in the basin with a loaded ship, so it is the practice to turn when light and dock headed out. However, the present location of the turning basin is such that after turning the vessel must be backed to the berth, and with the prevailing wind condition here that is difficult. The turning basin would be better located at the inner end of the port, allowing for a turnaround in either case that would permit vessel to dock coming ahead for a landing. Also, the present turning basin is not large enough for large vessels. Another problem which affects our cost of operation is the lack of water for our draft. Loaded may only sail with high water. With high water have enough |