Asia trade strains port / New U.S. maritime chief pays a visit to Oakland, where bustling traffic points to need for expansion

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Asia trade strains port
New U.S. maritime chief pays a visit to Oakland, where bustling traffic points to need for expansion
- David Armstrong, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 18, 2006

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Driven by surging trade with Asia that is approaching double-digit growth this year, the Port of Oakland -- one of the country's prime gateways for ocean shipping to and from Asia -- is feeling a new sense of urgency about development projects that it hopes will expand its capacity to handle all that new business.

On Tuesday, port officials got the ear of someone who might be able to help them realize their growth plans: Sean Connaughton, the newly appointed administrator of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration.

Connaughton, a Coast Guard veteran and lawyer who has been in his post six weeks, stopped by Oakland on a get-acquainted tour of the nation's 10 busiest ports, a day after visiting Los Angeles/Long Beach and a day before jetting off to Seattle/Tacoma.

Oakland, easily "