Port of Los Angeles to Open Van Nuys Office : Business: The branch, to be open Tuesdays, is intended to help Valley companies expand international trade.

Even if the sun-drenched San Fernando Valley is miles from the ocean, the Port of Los Angeles is opening a trade office here next week.

The new office, housed in the municipal building at 14410 Sylvan St. in Van Nuys, will help foster more international trade among area businesses, said Julia Nagano, director of public affairs for the port.

“We are an economic resource in the region, and many of the companies in the Valley as well as other parts of the city ship through this port,” Nagano said. “This office can put them in touch with the right resources to grow their international trade.”

Initially, the fourth-floor office will be open only on Tuesday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

R. Vance Baugham will staff the office as trade manager, Nagano said.

Baugham also works with the Los Angeles Office of International Trade, a private-public partnership operated by the World Trade Center Assn. Los Angeles-Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles.

Because many major companies that conduct international trade are in the Valley--including the shampoo firm Sebastian and 3M--the new port office will be a closer link for those firms, Nagano said.

“We’re long overdue,” said Bonny Herman, president of the Valley Industry and Commerce Assn. “Of course it makes sense. Just ask the visitors and convention bureau why they have an office in Japan and New York. You have to go where the business is.”

The Port of Los Angeles is the second busiest container port in the United States, after the Port of Long Beach, Nagano said.

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, when combined, are the third busiest in the world, after Hong Kong and Singapore, she said.