JERSEY CITY, NJ−Attendees at I.CON: The Industrial Conference here June 5-6 will hear many unique perspectives from nationally prominent panelists, certainly. But those taking NAIOP's waterside tour of the Port of New York and New Jersey may get the most unusual visual perspective – a view of the Bayonne Bridge, from below, as work continues to raise it. Anne Strauss-Wieder, a freight and supply chain analyst based in Westfield, has assembled a duck's-eye tour of the port; she and port officials will provide commentary from the deck of a Circle Line vessel. GlobeSt.com's Antoinette Martin spoke with Strauss-Wieder to get a preview.

GlobeSt.com: It has been a number of years since NAIOP took its industrial market pros on a water tour. Why now?

Strauss-Wieder: Well, for one thing the last time was pre-Sandy. People will get a chance to see for themselves how truly amazing it is that the port was only closed for a week before it was up and running again after that disaster. The other thing is to give people understanding of how the largest port on the East Coast will handle the newest and largest vessels in the world, as the impact of the widening of the Panama Canal increase international sourcing and marketing.

GlobeSt.com: What is the status of port readiness for the mega-ships?

Strauss-Wieder: With the introduction of larger vessels, they require deeper drafts. The dredging, bringing the draft down to 50 feet, that very significant job is basically done. Now, the really unique task of raising the Bayonne Bridge to accommodate the ships – while keeping it open to traffic – is under way. We will go under the bride, passing Global Marine Terminal in Jersey City, where they are just finishing their modernization to become the most automated facility in North America.

GlobeSt.com: Most automated, how?

Strauss-Wieder: This involves the moving of containers within the complex, using gantry cranes—the more automation, the more containers that can be moved in a smaller footprint.

GlobeSt.com: What exactly will be the tour route around the port?

Strauss-Wieder: This is a three-hour tour, down the Hudson River, turning into the Kill van Kull (the tidal strait between Staten Island and Bayonne) that is the main entrance to the Port of NY/NJ. We will see the engineering prep work on the Bayonne Bridge 'up close and personal.' Beyond being historic, I recently learned by the way, that the bridge has a little sister in Sydney, Australia – a mirror design, but ours is a foot or so longer.

GlobeSt.com: Do you expect to see any vessels?

Strauss-Wieder: If we are lucky, we will see all sorts of vessels. We will ride around Newark Bay and the Port Jersey channel and we may see some container carriers. We will probably see auto-carriers, because there is a lot of importing and exporting of vehicles right now. I was there a couple of weeks ago and saw a vessel filling up with Ford cars headed overseas. I saw smaller van-type vehicles being brought in from Spain.

GlobeSt.com: What if it's rainy or foggy?

Strauss-Wieder: We are hoping for excellent weather. In any case, we will have a captain of the U.S. Coast Guard aboard.