County, who were more dependent on the cargo port. In March 2015, the plan was pushed back to August while working on specifics of the alliance, including a decision on which legal entity it would fall under. The Washington State Legislature and Governor Jay Inslee approved the creation of a port development authority, similar to Washington's existing public development authority designation, in late April. On June 5, 2015, the two port commissions voted unanimously to merge their marine cargo operations into the alliance, christened "The Northwest Seaport Alliance", pending approval from the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC). The FMC approved the planned alliance on July 23, 2015. On August 4, 2015, at the Federal Way city hall, the two port commissions unanimously approved a formal agreement creating The Northwest Seaport Alliance. Under the agreement, properties from both ports would be placed in a common pool and the operations would be overseen by both elected port commissions. Port of Tacoma CEO John Wolfe was selected to be the alliance's first chief executive while remaining with Tacoma. The combined port authority became the third largest cargo port in the United States and by container volume. Early years On February 29, 2016, The Northwest Seaport Alliance invited the CMA CGM Benjamin Franklin, the largest cargo ship to visit the United States, to dock at the Port of Seattle's Terminal 18. The move was used to test the terminal's capabilities in handling a ship of that size (in the range of 18,000 twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEUs) and promote expansion of Terminal 5 into a facility to handle larger ships. In April 2016, the alliance approved $141 million in funding to upgrade piers and cranes at the Port of Tacoma's Husky Terminal. The alliance celebrated its first anniversary in August 2016 with a new joint operations center and continued growth in traffic, despite a drop in shipping caused by slower growth in Asia. Later that month, Hanjin Shipping, a major operator in Seattle, filed for bankruptcy and was barred from the Port of Seattle over fears of unpaid terminal fees. The bankruptcy sent the global shipping industry into a panic, with several Hanjin ships anchored off the Pacific coast awaiting approval to unload cargo. In December, Hanjin's Terminal 46 in Seattle was sold to an affiliate of Mediterranean Shipping Company for $78 million; the move was opposed by the Port of Seattle, who filed a