Ocean shipping: Port of New Orleans resumes cargo operations
Jeff Berman, Group News Editor -- Logistics Management, 9/5/2008
NEW ORLEANS—Over the course of Wednesday and Thursday, the Port of New Orleans has resumed cargo operations by working cargo vessels that arrived in the port before Hurricane Gustav came in last weekend and earlier this week, according to port officials.
Along with the port opening up cargo operations, the Port of New Orleans said that the US Coast Guard opened the mouth of the Mississippi River to a maximum draft of 30 feet that took effect at 11 p.m. on Wednesday. The port added that there are still other restrictions on other parts of the river although limited commerce has resumed.
“The opening of the Mississippi River on a limited basis and the return of cargo operations at the Port of New Orleans is a very encouraging sign,” said Gary LaGrange, Port President and CEO, in a statement. “As sounding and dredging activities take place at the mouth of the river, we hope to restore cargo operations fully in short order so that we can continue to meet the needs of our customers.”
Earlier this week, LM reported that with a combination of Hurricane Gustav falling short of expectations and precise logistics planning, the port appeared to be in decent condition.
In terms of operations at the Port of New Orleans resuming, the port reported the following:
- cargo activities resumed on Wednesday at the Louisiana Avenue Wharf that is operated by Coastal Cargo, with a supervisor crew loading project cargo headed for Brazil on board the Federal Patroller;
- all four gantry cranes are operational at the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal;
- the container terminal’s two stevedores—Ports America and New Orleans terminal—were scheduled to open today at 7 a.m., with full gate operations in effect that will allow trucks to pick up and drop off loads; and
- ten vessels are expected to arrive at the port’s docks between today and throughout the weekend, and ten additional vessels that “rode out” the storm at the port and are expected to complete their cargo operations and sail out of New Orleans soon.
And with the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina from three years ago still fresh in the minds of New Orleans—and the Nation’s—mind, the damage inflicted by Gustav, when compared to Katrina, was minimal.
As of Monday, September 1, the New Orleans’ floodwall and other levees in the city withstood Gustav, a Category 2 storm, according to various media reports. The Boston Globe reported that Gustav made landfall on Saturday, August 30, with the eye of the storm crossing over Cocodrie, Louisiana—60 miles southwest of New Orleans—at around 11 a.m. And although Gustav was weakening just before landfall, the Globe reported it was still moving with 110-mile-per-hour winds and 12-foot storm surges in places. The National Weather Service reported that Gustav knocked out power to roughly half a million homes and unleashed hurricane-force winds across the region.
And in anticipation of the storm, the Port of New Orleans ceased operations on Sunday, August 31 after completing its cargo operations on Saturday, August 30. Shutting down port operations was part of the port’s “four phase storm plan.”
Other phases included locking down cranes, port tenants finishing up removing any hazards from the wharves, and port confirming that key personnel and supplies were in place. Phase I, which takes effect every year on June 1, is comprised of preparing all of the supplies and personnel that it will need to weather a storm, according to the port.
“Things are ‘so far, so good’ here,” said Port of New Orleans spokesman Chris Bonura in an interview earlier this week. “Looking at our facilities, the place where we do the bulk of our operations on the Mississippi River—the river terminals—were in fairly good shape with minimal damage in that area,” said Bonura. “We feel confident we will be able to get things up and running pretty quickly.”
The Port of New Orleans said on Tuesday, September 2 that its Mississippi River facilities that comprise more than 80 percent of its cargo operations, received minimal wind damage, and the port sustained minimal damage to its Mississippi River facilities from the Henry Clay Avenue Wharf upriver to the Alabo Street Terminal downriver, with minor damage like damaged fencing, transformers, doors, and signage reported.
Port officials also reported that flooding occurred on the eastern side of the port’s industrial canal (Inner Harbor Navigation Channel) outside of the levee system. This part of the port includes less than 20 percent of its operations.
“Before Katrina we had about 20 percent of our cargo operations in that area,” said Bonura. “It is actually less than that now, with some cargo operations still there. There are currently inspections going on to see what the extent of damage was in that area was, but it is too early to know right now.”
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