Port of Gulfport keeps on rolling

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

30 Nov 2008

The Port of Gulfport has big plans for expansion, but even at its current size and with a slumping economy, the port already has put itself in a position to be the benefactor of a future business boom. A shift in trade patterns began several years ago when many Gulf Coast ports tweaked operations and drifted away from a specific type of cargo, choosing instead to handle mostly containerized and break-bulk cargo - goods that can be boxed or fastened to a pallet and usually need to be lifted from a vessel by crane.
Meantime, industry executives say another method of shipping is slowly being squeezed out and a few smaller ports along the Gulf are seizing the opportunity.
Some ports, such as Houston and Tampa, Fla., still handle a variety of cargo types, but many major ports are decreasing their capacity for "ro-ro" cargo - goods that can be rolled on and rolled off a vessel. This has allowed smaller ports, such as Gulfport and Galveston, Texas, to put a heavy emphasis on that trade.
"One of the things that maritime shipping companies look for when they look at ports is what type of cargo a port can handle," said Don Allee, executive director of the Port of Gulfport. "We are at a great advantage because we can do both."
Before Hurricane Katrina the Port of New Orleans handled several ro-ro vessels, including several calls a month from Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics and National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia.
WWL has since consolidated its services at Galveston and NSCSA has moved its ro-ro services to Atlantic ports. Matt Gresham, a spokesman for the Port of New Orleans, said his port hopes to eventually bring ro-ro vessels back.
On the other side of Gulfport, the Port of Mobile still handles ro-ro cargo on occasion; port spokeswoman Judy Adams said Alabama still markets its port as being capable of handling all types of cargo.
"(Mobile) can handle ro-ro cargo without adversely impacting capacity or capability of handling break-bulk or containers," she said. "If a ro-ro opportunity presents itself, we accommodate."
Millions of containers enter the United States every year through terminals in California, but port congestion and labor shortages in recent years have forced cargo ships to wait in long lines at major West Coast ports. Many vessels small enough to fit through the Panama Canal have been diverted to ports in the Gulf of Mexico.
Experts believe the planned expansion of the Panama Canal, which would allow next-generation megaships to cross into the Gulf, will drastically increase business at Gulf Coast ports.

Source: The Sun Herald