By Patrick Gallagher, Executive Director, Marine Exchange of Puget Sound
Each week, I share a briefing that summarizes maritime trends, port operations, and relevant policy developments shaping our region. Here’s what moved the needle this week across the Puget Sound maritime landscape.
Legislative Push: All Eyes on SB 5794
I made two trips to Olympia this week, both centered around Senate Bill 5794, which we oppose. On Tuesday, I attended a policy briefing on the bill. The next day, I returned to interview Representatives Greg Nance and Julia Reed for our upcoming Maritime Morning Brief podcast episode.
SB 5794 is framed as an effort to clean up the tax code, but it poses real risk to maritime logistics and workforce incentives. I’ve committed to testify in opposition this coming Monday during the Senate Ways & Means Committee hearing at 4:00 PM.
This is a Priority 1 issue for the Marine Exchange and one we believe deserves full industry attention.
From Rain to Tornadoes: Situational Awareness
Western Washington weather made headlines this week with lightning, heavy rains, and even a tornado warning—a rarity in our region. While we experienced several days of limited visibility, there were no major disruptions to vessel traffic or port operations.
Maritime Operations & Collaboration
- We are distributing the Intent to Participate for this summer’s ECHO Program slowdown to help protect Southern Resident killer whales. The Marine Exchange has supported the ECHO slowdown since its inception.
- We continued preparations for the Coast Guard Foundation Dinner in Seattle.
- I joined a fundraiser for Port of Seattle Commission President Toshiko Hasegawa, reinforcing our commitment to local leadership and maritime governance.
- Next week, we’ll meet with Washington Sea Grant to begin discussions on marine traffic lane planning—a proactive step toward improving safety and environmental balance in our waters.
Technology Snapshot
- Our AIS network remains rock solid, with >99.9% uptime across all seven towers.
- Cybersecurity status: no anomalies detected.
- Our database optimization project remains underway, with progress aligning with planned upgrades to our internal data systems.
Legislative Scorecard: March 28 Update
Alongside SB 5794, the Marine Exchange is actively tracking and weighing in on more than two dozen bills. A few highlights:
- HB 1167 (Maritime CTE): Passed the House 96–0–2, now awaiting Senate action.
- SB 5191 (Dockworker Paid Leave): Cleared the Senate and is now in House Appropriations.
- HB 1511 / SB 5059 (Washington State Ferries Captains): Strongly supported and moving.
- SB 5281 (Nonresident Vessel Permits): Passed the Senate unanimously; now in House.
Final Word: why we pay attention
I don’t know why exactly, but this beautiful industry in this beautiful place is taking hits from every level. Washington maritime gave me everything, so I can’t NOT protect what I love.
You may have noticed a much more aggressive stance from the Marine Exchange lately, but that’s commensurate with the amount of urgent threats that we’re facing. Trump tariffs, USTR Chinese ship fees, Seattle City Council vote to rezone industrial land, proposed legislation to impost CARB rules, “paused” EPA ports grants, reduction of NOAA personnel and capability, threatened FEMA support and paused Port Security grants all add up to an accumulation of impact that we cannot measure.
We’re paying attention because we deeply care about the fate of an industry that has given so much to so many.
Stay tuned for next week’s update, which will include results from my Olympia testimony, a recap of our WA Sea Grant meeting, and new developments around regional AIS data sharing.
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Patrick Gallagher
Executive Director
Marine Exchange of Puget Sound
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