Port of Los Angeles gets its largest ship ever

June 18--The biggest ship to ever come to the Port of Los Angeles arrived Wednesday.

Big ships carrying 10,000 to 11,000 containers have come in the past, but never the size of the 13,000-container ship, the Cosco Development, which is berthed at APM Terminals/Pier 400.

The 13,000 containers held by the 3-year-old ship are 20-foot equivalent units, a standardized maritime industry measurement used when counting cargo containers of varying lengths.

"It's the largest ship to ever call here," port spokesman Phillip Sanfield said.

The ship is owned by China-based Cosco Container Lines but is chartered by South Korea-based Evergreen Line as part of a joint venture relationship.

"This is an indication of larger ships to come," Sanfield said.

Pier 400, which covers 484 acres in the Port of Los Angeles, opened in 2002. -- Pat Maio

On the move

Farah Bhatti has joined BakerHostetler as partner in the law firm's Costa Mesa office. She becomes part of the firm's trademark team, which is part of BakerHostetler's intellectual property group. Bhatti was previously a shareholder and chairwoman of the intellectual property practice group at Buchalter Nemer.

Mayur Thakarar has been hired by Keller Williams, a real estate franchise, as team leader for Keller Williams Newport Estates. He previously served as master recruiter at First Team Real Estate. Thakarar plans to grow the Newport Beach office to over 250 agents.

New ventures

Lugo & Associates Insurance Services Inc., a Newport Beach employee benefits firm, has been acquired by Integro Insurance Brokers, a New York-based insurance brokerage and risk management firm. Lugo's client base of small- to medium-size businesses will complement Integro's customers, who are larger companies. Mike Lugo joins Integro to lead the firm's small- to mid-size group division. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Comtrend, a digital networking equipment manufacturer, has relocated from its previous Irvine location to a larger Irvine facility at 14 Chrysler. The 25,000-square-foot headquarters provide roughly twice the warehouse space of the old location. The move will allow the company to bring on more staff. Comtrend has recently increased the size of its sales, marketing and product teams.

Capstone Financial Group Inc., a holding company in Irvine, has agreed to invest up to $57 million in Twinlab Consolidation Corp. by purchasing shares of the company over the course of three years. The investment will be used to acquire Twinlab Corp., a New York-based nutritional supplements manufacturer, and two other health and wellness companies. The total investment would give Capstone a 38 percent stake in Twinlab Consolidation.

Milestones

Girl Scouts of Orange County has selected six local former Girl Scouts to honor at the fifth annual Celebrate Leadership event Nov. 7 at the Island Hotel in Newport Beach. This year's honorees are: Jane Buchan of Corona del Mar, chief executive at Irvine-based Pacific Alternative Asset Management Co.; Mildred Garcia of Fullerton, president at Cal State Fullerton; Sandra Hutchens of Dana Point, Orange County sheriff; Lynn Jolliffe of Corona del Mar, executive vice president of human resources at Santa Ana-based Ingram Micro Inc.; Joann Leatherby of Modjeska Canyon, president of the Leatherby Family Foundation; Betty Mower Potalivo of Dana Point, president of the Orange County and San Diego regions of Northern Trust Wealth Management.

Overheard

"The biggest challenge now is to be quick enough to take advantage of the economic momentum we have." -- Matthew Harper, huntington beach mayor, at the groundbreaking of the eight-story Paséa Hotel and Spa

Contact the writer: 714-796-3589 or ksablan@ocregister.com

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