Port of Grays Harbor’s Top 10 of 2023

December 29, 2023
Contact:  Kayla Dunlap, Director of Government & Public Affairs
kdunlap@portgrays.org or 360-581-4776

The Port of Grays Harbor wishes everyone a safe, happy and healthy New Year! Enjoy our Top 10 of 2023 and we look forward to all of the great things to come in 2024.

#1

Record Cargo handled at the Port’s 4 deep-water terminals – While the year is not quite over, the cargo volume handled at the terminals has already exceeded the record cargo volume handled back in 2020.

#2

AGP invests $57 million in current T2 facility as they progress with second export facility at T4 – Celebrating 20 years of operations at Terminal 2, AGP continues to grow and invest in Grays Harbor with the addition of 4 more silos and an upgraded aspiration system.  AGP plans to break ground on their second export facility at the Port’s Terminal 4 by mid-2024.

#3

Haul Road Mid-Term Strategy project completed – The Satsop Business Park and its partners celebrated the completion of the Haul Road Erosion Mid-Term Strategy Project that will help protect utilities and critical infrastructure from erosion for the next decade.

#4

Lynch Creek Expands at Satsop Business Park – Wrapping up another successful holiday season, Lynch Creek expanded to more than 200,000 square feet of warehouse and storage space at the Satsop Business Park

#5

Tax Increment Area created for T4 Expansion Project to utilize Tax Increment Financing – The Port successfully created the County’s first Tax Increment Area to utilize Tax Increment Financing to help fund the transformational Terminal 4 Expansion and Redevelopment Project that will bring private investment and jobs to the community.

#6

Port earns Clean Financial and Accountability Audits for 2020, 2021, and 2022 –  Responsible for complying with laws, regulations, its own policies and safeguarding public resources, the Port’s stellar accounting team earned a clean financial audit report from the Washington State Auditor for 2022, along with clean Accountability audits for 2020, 2021 and 2022.

#7

Progressed a third pilot through the Washington State Pilotage Board training and licensure process – Captain Colby Grobschmit joined Captain Ryan Leo and senior Captain Bobby D’Angelo as a licensed Grays Harbor Pilot after completing the Washington State Board of Pilotage Commissioner’s rigorous training program. 

#8

Gary Nelson announces retirement after nearly 24 years as Executive Director – Executive Director Gary Nelson announced he will be retiring on March 31, 2024, after leading the Port through a tremendous amount of growth and change over the last two decades. 

#9

Westport Marina ranks #9 in the nation for both volume and value landed – Recently released 2022 NOAA Statistics show the Westport Marina moving up the rankings in both value and volume from the previous year.  Local seafood processors also reported a record Dungeness crab year in 2023. 

#10

Leonard Barnes to be next Executive Director – Signaling solid leadership and continuity, Deputy Director Leonard Barnes was chosen by the Port Commission to be the next Executive Director of the Port of Grays Harbor, effective April 1, 2024.