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NOVEMBER 1997 PORTOF HOUSTON AUTHORITY
Transcript

NOVEMBER 1997 PORT OF HOUSTON AUTHORITY

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2 Ship Channel Safety

Crowley-APL Joint Service 5

6 Phelps Joins Port Commission

ON THE COVERRandy Pugh (left) and Chris Horsak operate the high-pressure water nozzles on the TELLEPSEN, one of threePort of Houston Authority fireboats. For more infi~rma-tion concerning the fireboat crews and their variedresponsibilities, see Page 2.

COMMISSIONERS

NED HOLMES ROBERT GILLE’R’E JOHN Q.A. WEBB JR., M.D.Chairman Commissioner Commissioner

CHASE UNTERMEYERCommissioner

VIOAL MARTINEZCommissioner

JAMES T. EDMONDSCommissioner

STEVE PHELPSCommissioner

ne hot June day in 1926, thousands of curious specta-tors gathered along the docks of the Houston ShipChannel to see something they had never seen

befi3re. Houston’s new fireboat, PORT HOUSTON, hadarrived the previous day, and local officials were eager to showoff the vessel. Onlookers watched with delight as tile little boatspewed mighty streams of water 200 feet into the air.

Now, 71 years later, the Port of Houston’s firefighting equip-inent is considerably more sophisticated. But so are the inci-dcnts port firefighters must be prepared to face. In fact, today’smarine firefighter is more likely to be called to a chemical spillthan a blaze.

The Texas Legislature assigned the tasks of fire andsafety protection along the Houston Ship Channel to thePort of Houston Authority. These responsibilities are car-ried out by the PHA Marine Department, which operatesthree fireboats. The cost of maintaining tile boats histori-cally has been funded partially by harbor fees collectedfrom vessel operators. The fee is a small price to pay fi~rsuch highly specialized emergency response capabilities.

"Our main responsibility is to provide fire suppressionfi~r all vessels and waterfront fi~cilities along the HoustonShip Channel and its tributaries," says Ruben Arredondo,PHA marine department manager. "Our other responsibil-ity is hazardous materials and oil spill response, which hasew)lved into the larger part of our work."

Ensuring safety along a 50-mile-long ship channel is nosmall task. Fortunately, many of the private industries alongthe channel help out. In 1955, the Harris County HoustonShip Channel Navigation District, the forerunner of the PortAuthority, and other industries formed a mutual aid organiza-tion to respond to emergencies along the channel. Members ofChannel Industries Mutual Aid, known as CIMA, provide fire-fighting, rescue, first aid and spill cleanup expertise and equip-ment when emergencies arise along the channel.

"We’re fi)rtunate to have an organization of industries thathave committed to pooling their resources to help each other,"says Arredondo. "We are members of C1MA, and we activelyparticipate in their decision-making process."

If an incident occurs, the PHA marine department’s primaryrole is to support the emergency response efforts of others, if ash~reside incident arises, PHA personnel help provide waterconnections or fire-fighting fi)am to shore response teams. Intile event of a vessel fire, the PHA fireboats are dispatched tofight the blaze from the water.

Above: Crewmen test equipment on the PHA fireboatFARNSWORTH.

The Port Authority’s fireboat fiect consists of theTELLEPSEN, based at Barbours Cut Terminal; theFARNSWORTH, located at the Bulk Materials HandlingPlant; and the BRACEWELL, stationed at the Turning BasinTerminal. The FARNSWORTH was christened in 1974; theother two boats were christened in 1983. The department alsomaintains a hazardous materials truck at Barbours Cut Termi-nal to respond to spills on land.

"Every fireboat that is built is a custom-made boat. There’sno such thing as a production-line fireboat," says George Lar-rimer, senior captain of the PHA fireboat TELLEPSEN. "Thistype of vessel costs about $1.5 million apiece nowadays. It’svery specialized."

Although Houston is one of the world’s 10 largest ports, fewmajor incidents have occurred along the ship channel. Mostincidents inw)lve minor chemical or oil spills. The majority ofspills occur at Barbours Cut Terminal, Bayport or the privateterminals in this vicinity, where oil and petrochemicals areproduced or shipped. Barbours Cut handles an estimated half-million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of hazardous materi-

Left: L.G. West, Mack Newell and RubenArredondo confer on the deck of the fireboatBRACEWELLAbove: Chris Horsak secures the TELLEPSENat its dock.

als per year. Spills can occur when chemical drums within acontainer are punctured by a pallet nail, when a container islifted or lowered improperly or when a truck carrying a con-

tainer is inw)lved in a mishap. Thanks t~ PHA’s trained per-sonnel, such incidents rarely result in injuries or environ-mental damage.

"In firefighting, prevention is most of the j¢)b. If you’re han-dling prevention properly, you don’t have emergencies to dealwith," says Larrimer. "We’re very fortunate that we haven’t had

"Connec t ing transpor t at ion compan ies

in the Port of Houston on one digital network

is the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard."

Olle bllHon (’onlle(’(s

an entire industry. What

else could be simpler?

Our digital phone also

includes all)hanumeric

paging, voice mail and

iio io~1¥11i11~ UhUl~es.

the Port of Houston, It was built on a

simple premise. Creme

a communications net-

work within the Port of

Houston’s transportation

industry which would allow

evew-one to talk to each oilier -

instantly. We were able to make

Ibis possible thanks to the utfique

Nextd Direct Copmect~’~ ~;~ature on

our Motorola< phone. Just push

~fie Nexlel Direct Connect butlon

on the side and you’ll instantly

open a pro’ate digital chain]el with gray other

member of the network, Nextcl is the only cutnpany

which can provide this service. So, once the

.,. B~es & D&d,.

RaY ste~Bnc3

C i

,~, .... " people you deal

with eveU &~y are on the netwntk, you won’t have

to worW about missing them and wasting time,

No more phone *a~g. No more missed pages. No

more dd®s. And Ix’st of all, no big cellular bills.

Thatg tx~cause out Nextel Direct Conn~l l-izatute

comes with a feature of its own Unlimited

Private Calti~N, Make m~limited private calls, using

unlimited minutes at no extra chaLe.e. Either

you’re a part of N E~crEK

the netwoFk or you’re not, so don’t be let]: out.

GET SMART. GET NEXTEff~.

For more information, call one of the following local representatives:

Aero Communications Nextel CommunicationsJim Gibbons Fred Hamilton281 894 6288 713 892 3540

¢71997Nextcl Communications. All rights reserved. NexteL the Ncxtel logo, Ncxlel Direct ( onnect and Get Smart. (-Jet Nextel. are trademarksancg’or servicenlarks of Nextel Colnmunications. Inc. ’~Motorola is a registered trademark oF Motorola, Inc. v,v,w.nextel.com

Crowley and APL Launch

Joint Houston Servicerowley American Transportand American President Lines

have launched a jointweekly service from the Port of Houstonto Mexico, Panama and South America.The two carriers recently signed anagreement that calls for Crowley tooperate the ships in the new service,while both companies will share vesselspace. The Gulf Express Service com-menced in mid-September.

Three Crowley vessels -- the M/VSEA PILOT, the M/V SEA GALE andthe M/V SEA CLOUD -- sail in theservice. The ships stop weekly at Hous-ton -- the only U.S. Gulf port on theservice, before proceeding to Tampicoand Veracruz, Mexico; Puerto CabelloVenezuela; Cartagena, Colombia; andManzanillo, Panama.

"The Gulf Express will introduceadditional logistics capabilities and thehigh service standards of both compa-nies to businesses shipping goods via theU.S. Gulf Coast," stated a press releaseissued by the two steamship lines. "Thehighly competitive transit times willinclude a 10-day transit between Hous-ton and Puerto Cabello, with efficientconnections between Puerto Cabelloand ports in Brazil and Argentina."

Prior to commencement of the newservice, the lines sent two vessels on atrial run to the Port of Houston Author-ity’s Turning Basin Terminal.

APL and Crowley also share a weeklyfeeder service in the Caribbean andrecently launched a joint servicebetween the U.S. East Coast and SouthAmerica.

Crowley American Transport, head-quartered in Jacksonville, Fla., providesliner and common carrier servicesbetween Canada and the United Statesand points in Central America, SouthAmerica and the Caribbean. The com-

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Both of the PHA Turning Basin Terminal’s container cranes were used to discharge andload boxes from the M/V SEA LYNX, operated by Crowley. The ship sailed to Houston ona trial voyage for Crowley’s and APL’s new joint service to Mexico, Central America andSouth America.

pany’s fleet includes 13 oceangoingRO/RO barges, 35 container andRO/RO ships and 65,000 containers.The company is a wholly owned sub-sidiary of Oakland-based Crowley Mar-itime Corp., which was founded in 1892.

APL, based in Oakland, Calif., offersworldwide container transportation and

logistics services. APL ships sail in thetranspacific, Asia-to-Europe, intra-asianand Latin American trade lanes. Theline also operates an extensive NorthAmerican network of stack trains servedby more than 60 terminals.

T he most remarkable thing

about new Port of HoustonCommissioner Steve Phelps is

the deep respect and loyalty he seems toinspire in his constituents. Hundreds ofpeople attended his rcccnt swearing-in

to the Port Commission, and some wereeven teary-eyed as he took his oath ofoffice. Eating lunch in a local restaurant,he is warmly greeted and congratulatedby several diners. It’s obvious StevePhelps is well known and well liked.

Even his t’ather-in-law is a big fan.After the swearing in, he proudly told aport employee: "Steve doesn’t makedecisions based on what’s good for him.He looks at the big picturc and tries todetermine what is fair and best for the

entire communit‘*."Phelps was appointed to the seven-

member Port of Houston Commission bythe city of Pasadena, Texas, one of manycommunities located along the HoustonShip Channel. Many major petro-chemical companies operate plants inPasadena, and they ship millions of tonsof petrochemical products through thePort of Houston. A large number ofplant workers live in Pasadena, so the

Above: Steve Phelps was appointed to the Port of HoustonCommission by the city of Pasadena, Texas.Below: Shown at the swearing-in ceremony are (from left) PortCommission Chairman Ned Holmes, Harris County JudgeRobert Eckels and County Commissioner Jim Fonteno.

community has a significant economic

interest in the Port of Houston."The products that enter and leave

this region through the port, and thejobs created as a result, are the key tothe continued economic wellbeing ofPasadena, the Houston metropolitan

area and the Gulf Coast," PasadenaMayor Johnny Isbell tokt guests atPhelps’ swearing-in cercmony. "Servingon the Port Commission means accept-ing responsibility for helping to contin-ue our area’s economic growth, and wcare confident that Steve Phelps willserve our community and the port wellill that position."

Phelps was born in the nearby com-munity of Baytown, Texas, and grew upin Pasadena, a town he praises for itspeople and their "holnCtown values."

His parents, John and Wynell Phelps,own an insurance agency that the,,’ start-ed in their garage 35 years ago. Theagency has since moved t~ larger accom-

Above: Pasadena Mayor JohnnyIsbell addresses guests atPhelps’ swearing-in ceremony.Left: Judge Eckels administersthe oath of office to Phelps asPhelps’ wife, Jana, looks on.

modations, and the family is well known

in the community.Phelps got his first taste of political

life while studying business at the Uni-versity of Houston at Clear Lake. Dur-ing his senior year, he accepted aninternship in Harris County Commis-

sioner Jim Fonteno’s office. Fonteno hadserved as port commissioner heft)re hewas county commissioner. After Phelpscompleted his business degree, heaccepted a full-time position with the

commissioner, who became ~ne of hismentors. While employed by Fonteno,Phelps worked with H~)uston Port C(}l]]-missioner John Garrett on a project todevelop a dredged material disposal areainto bike and hiking trails. Althoughthe project was aborted, Phelps learneda great deal about the port and localgoverl-llilel~l t.

Phelps left FontenNs office to work athis fiunily’s insunmce agency fi}r a while.But so{}n he was called back into publiclife. In 1984, at the age of 26, he wasapp~}inted justice of the peace fi)r HarrisCounty Precinct 8. That positionentailed managing a half-million-dollarbudget, hearing small-claims suits, judg-ing Class-C misdemeanors (such as hotcheck cases and traffic violations) and,yes, performing marriage ceremonies.He earned a reputation as a fair and eth-ical judge.

Although justices of the peace arenot required to be trained as lawyers,Phelps decided it would be beneficial tostudy law. Though married and working

full-time, he attended South Texas Col-lege of Law in Houston part-time, com-pleting his doctor of jurisprudencedegree in 1993.

After nearly 13 years as a justice ofthe peace, Phelps decided he wanted toreturn to the fiunily business. Still, hewas reluctant to abandon his interest inpublic service. When his name was

"Steve doesn’tmake decisionsbased on what’sgood for him."

mentioned as a possible candidate fi)rport commissioner, Phelps saw an oppor-tunity to have the best of both worlds.The city of Pasadena appointed Phelpsto succeed Commissioner Leroy Bruner,and Phelps resigned as JP, returning tothe family business.

Phelps said his experience as a justiceof the peace has given him a sense ofperspective that will guide him as a portcommissioner.

"l became accustomed to looking at

issues from the viewpoint of the localcommunity," he says. "When an issuecomes up on the Port Commission, 1 will

be asking myself ho~ it will affect peo-ple locally. Already, several people haveasked me what a port commissionerdoes, so I think the l(~cal community isgoing to develop a better awareness ofthe port and how it affects them."

Serving as commissioner of the

world’s eighth-largest port is an "incredi-bit opportunity of a lifetime," Phelpstold friends and associates attending his

swearing-in. "It gives me the ¢~ppor-tunity to have input on policies thathave a tremendous impact on our h)cal

economy, and it gives me the opportuni-ty to look at issues on an internationalscale."

Phelps says one of his main interestsas a port commissioner will be address-ing issues that will affect the port in thelong term.

"One of the issues I want to look at ispartnerships. Are there things we couldbe doing with our school districts, ~uruniversities, our county and our citiesthat we’re not doing? 1 don’t know pre-cisely what issues these parmershipsmight address, but I’d like to get every-body in a room together, so to speak,

MARITIMA & SERVICIOS, C.A.PUERTO CABELLO ¯ VALENCIA ¯ CARACAS ̄ LA GUAIRA

~Liner & Tramp Shipping Agency

StevedoringCustoms & Forwarding AgentsTransport

Storage

Maritima & Servicios, CA (or Maritime Services, CA) was established in March 1989 a stevedoring and ship agency for the main ports of Venezuela: Puerto Cabello and LaGuaira.

Today, as a totally independent private company, we can offer a variety of services on a24-hour basis, 365 days per year, in the ports of La Guaira and Puerto Cabello.

The services provided include: stevedoring, forklift services round the clock, forwardingagency, ship agency for tramp and liner vessels, marketing, brokerage through ourScanaval sister company, underwater inspections through our Oceantec sister compa-ny, storage of empty and full containers (inside and outside the port), transit cargo viathe port of Puerto Cabello to the Carribean and inland transportation.

The long-standing reputation of the company in this field and its knowledge of theVenezuelan market, backed by a highly qualified staff, have allowed the company to feelconfident of its ability to offer customers the best services.

As a small to middle sized agency - and as far as this particular activity is concerned -Maritima & Servicios, CA wants to remain that way, believing that by staying a moder-ate size, it shall be able to maintain its efficiency through hands-on management andcontrol. The company’s goal is to represent a few good non-competing shipping lineswith whom it can identify and feel part of the team.

Head Office:

Puerto Cabello: Address: Calle Pto. Cabelloc/c Ricuarte P.O. Box 17

Telex:Fax:Phone:

42213 MFECA VC+58-42-619291,617880+58-42-610844,611666+58-42-619073,617880

Branch Offices:

La Guaira: Telex:

Caracas:

Valencia:

31162Fax: +518-31-312460Phone:+58-31-313611,312375Fax: +58-2-959-4285Phone:+58-2-959-6131,959-6927Fax: +58-41-235509Phone: +58-41-238309, 235615

Waterways Conference Meets in HoustonThe federal government’s

overwhehning determination tobalance the national budgetcould have a disastrous effect onthe U.S. transportation system,an industry expert says.

"Unfortunately, balancing thefederal budget is seen as muchmore important than investingin urgent infrastructure needs,"said Harry Cook, president of theNational Waterways Conference.Cook presented his "State of theWaterways" report during theNWC’s annual conference inHouston this fall.

Legitimate national need, notfiscal policy, should determine where thefederal government invests its money,Cook said. Denying funding to criticaltransportation infrastructure projects isshort-sighted and self-defeating.

"Continued under-investment inwaterway, highway and airway systemscan jeopardize our ability to compete inworld markets. Transportation efficiencyand safety will be put at risk. Conges-tions and delays will increase costs,"Cook told the audience. "A second-ratetransportation infrastructure will surelylead to a second-rate economy."

Lack of funding is not the transporta-tion industry’s only problem, Cook said.Although some dedicated transportationtrust funds have huge surpluses, Wash-ington will not allow the money to bespent. That’s because the surpluses helpoffset the budget deficit "on paper,"Cook said. For example, the Clintonadministration recently announced plansto cease maintenance of some small har-bors. Most of the funding fi~r these har-bors comes from the Harbor

Tom Kornegay, executivedirector of the Port of Hous-ton Authority

Harry Cook, president ofthe National WaterwaysConference

Maintenance Trust Fund, which has abudget surplus of more than a billiondollars.

Another fund, the Inland WaterwaysTrust Fund, pays one-half the cost ofbuilding and rehabilitating shallow-draftlocks and dams. This fund has a surplusof $300 million, but the U.S. Senatedeclined in its pending 1998 appropria-tions bill to start any new inland naviga-tion projects. Senators maintain thatbudgetary ceilings in future years willnot permit the funding of these projects.

"The ahnighty budget has nowbecome the tail wagging the dog," saidCook.

Dwindling investment in navigation,flood control, hydropower and otherwater resources projects has seriouslydelayed needed upkeep and repairs. TheU.S. Army Corps of Engineers recentlyreported that its backlog of deferredmaintenance projects adds up to approx-imately $1.4 billion. And the longermaintenance is delayed, Cook observed,

the more costly these projectswill become.

The nation’s waterways is notthe only system in a fundingpredicament. Interstate highwaysand bridges are deterioratingwhile "huge surpluses languish inthe Highway Trust Fund," Cooksaid. Even air traffic controllersmust use outdated equipmentalthough billion of dollars situnused in the Airport and Air-ways Trust Fund.

The governors of Kentuckyand North Dakota have accusedWashington of "rolling over foranother snooze" where

transportation system funding is con-cerned. While modernization of the Mis-sissippi and Illinois Rivers is years away,other nations, such as Argentina andBrazil, are rapidly modernizing theirtransportation systems.

"Transportation systems are beingheld hostage to federal budget-balancingat a time when more flavored programsare being rewarded with higher budgets:education, job training, the envi-ronment, veterans afflairs, and so on,"Cook said. "Entitlement spending keepsgoing up, too."

Cook urged audience members toconvince the government to revamp itsrestrictive fiscal policy and reinvest inthe national transportation system.

Conference attendees were welcomedto Houston by Tom Kornegay, executivedirector of the Port of Houston Authori-ty. Kornegay told guests Houston is thenation’s fourth-largest city and is homeof the country’s second-largest port andthe world’s eighth-largest port. In addi-tion, Houston leads all U.S. ports in for-

Don’t Shut Down Your Dock Operat|ons!WATER INJECTION DREDGING

THE COST EFFECTIVE ALTERNATIVE TO CONVENTIONAL DREDGINGeign waterborne trade. He also brieflydiscussed the Houston Ship Channelwidening and deepening project recentlyauthorized by Congress. Work on thatproject should begin next year, hc said.The project represents the first improve-mcnts to the ship channel in more than30 years.

The National Waterways Conference,now in its 37th year, represents water-way shippers, carriers, ports and termi-nals, shipyards, river valley associationsand others involved in waterway ~pera-tions. ~i

Terrier ArticleWas Inaccurate

An article in the September issue ofthe Port of Houston Magazine incorrectlyreported that Terrier Transportation Inc.is owned by Grupo Trafimar. Terrier, amotor freight transportation cocnpany, isnot owned by Grupo Trafimar. The Portof Houston Magazine regrets the error.

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PHA RequestsBond Election

The Port of Houston Authority isasking Harris County Commissioners toauthorize a bond election primarily tofund development of Bayport.

Ned Hohnes, chairman of the Port ofHouston Commission, recently spokeduring county commissioners’ regularmeeting, detailing recent port improve-ments and future plans. He also ex-plained how funds from previous bondsales were used to finance specific portimprovements.

The Port Authority hopes to developtwo terminals on property it owns at theBayport Industrial Complex. Recently,port commissioners awarded a contractfor preliminary design of a container ter-minal at Bayport that would help allevi-ate traffic at Barbours Cut Terminal. AtBarbours Cut’s current rate of growth,the Port Authority could find its con-tainer handling facilities at full capacityby the year 2000, Hohnes said.

"Clearly, we are near the saturationpoint at our Barbours Cut ContainerTerminal," he said. "Failure to providefor additional capacity will cause theport to lose market share and, potential-ly, some of our customer base. Conse-quently, we anticipate committingsignificant funds to the development ofBayport in 1999."

In addition, Hohnes said, the PortAuthority wants to build a permanentcruise terminal at Bayport, which couldaccommodate larger vessels than thetemporary cruise facility at Barbours Cutcan handle. Norwegian Cruise Line hasreported nearly a 99 percent occupancyrate for its Caribbean cruises from Bar-hours Cut, and other major cruise opera-tors have indicated they would offerservice from Houston if appropriatefacilities were available.

Hohnes estimated Bayport dcvelop-ment and other expansion projects willrequire at least $150 million more thanthe Port Authority’s projected cash flow.If development of Bayport is to takeplace, another referendum for port im-provement bonds will be needed in the"not-too-distant" fi~ture, Holmes said.

The last bond election for portimprovements was in 1993, when votersapproved the sale of $150 raillion forexpansion of Barbours Cut Terminal andimprovements to other port facilities. In1989, Harris County w)ters approved theissuance of $130 million in generalobligation bonds to help pay the localcost of widening and deepening theHouston Ship Channel. Federal lawmak-ers agreed earlier this year to appropriatefunds for the federal government’s shareof the project costs. ~1

WISTA FormsHouston Group

The Women’s International Shippingand Trading Association has formed aHouston regional group.

"Because Houston is such a major hubof maritime activity and related services,we believe it would be well served by a

WISTA regional group of its own," saidLeslie Sweet, an association memberwho works for Admiralty Associatesinternational.

The Houston chapter held its firstorganizational meeting in October.

WISTA is an international profes-sional association dedicated to advanc-ing the interests of women involved inshipping and trading. Since the incorpo-ration of the U.S. association, WISTAhas acquired more than 120 members in17 states.

WISTA was founded in the UnitedKingdom in 1974. The group includeswomen from all over the world in allareas of shipping and trade includingoperations, finance, brokering, charter-ing, freight forwarding, law, insurance,consulting, education and services. InSeptember, the international group heldits annual conference in Helsinki, Fin-land.

To learn more about WISTA, contactJulia Adams at (713) 877-5508 or LeslieSweet at (281) 260-0840.

Ivaran OpensHouston Office

Ivaran Lines has established a newsales organization in Houston to handleall sales and marketing throughoutTexas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Okla-hotna.

Michael Diaz has been named salesmanager for the Gulf and West Coastterritory. He has worked for Ivaran inCalifornia for three years, handling WestCoast sales.

Ivaran also has named Sy Acosta andA[ma Montes as account executives.Acosta gained extensive experiencehandling sales for Ivaran when thatfunction was performed by Riise Ship-ping, the line’s Gulf agents. Montesbecame knowledgeable about the linewhile working in Riise’s traffic section.

Ivaran offers two weekly services fromHouston. The carrier recently added twocalls -- Puerto Limon, Costa Rica, and

m

/ih~l

SSA stevedoring, terminal and rail yard operationsoffer the latest equipment and experienced

supervision to ensure safe cargo handling andprompt turnaround. Serving the entire U.S. GulfRegion, West Coast, Atlantic Coast and multipleinternational locations, SSA offers over 100 yearsof experience. Call on SSA, the cargo handlingspecialist.

Stevedoring Services of America111 E. Loop N, Suite 250 Tel: 713-678-7308Houston, TX 77029 Fax: 713-678-4745

Partners in Quality

13

Cartegena, Colombia to its Gulf-Caribbean service. The service alsoincludes calls in Mexico, Venezuela andthe Dominican Republic. Ivaran recent-ly announced plans to add another ves-sel, the M/V IVARAN CUARTO, to theGulf-Caribbean service.

Ivaran also offers a weekly servicefrom Houston and New Orleans toBrazil, Argentina, Uruguay andParaguay. The new Ivaran office may becontacted by calling (713) 880-5343.Faxes may be sent to (713) 880-9338.

CAGEMA BeginsNew Service

Caribbean General Maritime Ltd.(CAGEMA) has launched a new weeklyexpress service between the Gulf ofMexico and the Caribbean.

CAGEMA’s Gulf Express Serviceoffers sailings from the Port of HoustonAuthority’s Turning Basin Terminal, thePort of Miami; and Veracruz andAltamira, Mexico. Caribbean destina-tions include Kingston, Freeport, SantaLucia, Barbados, Trinidad, Martinique,

Grenada, St. Vincent, Guadeloupe,Dominica and St. Martin.

Kingston remains the connectionpoint fi~r CAGEMA’s existing Caribbeannetwork. Two ships are deployed in theGulf Express service, the M/V ARCADI-AN SKY and the M/V CAMIRA.

Shippers Stevedoring is cargo handlerfi~r the service in Houston.

For more infi~rmation, contact theline’s agent, Phoenician InternationalShipping Inc., in Houston at (281) 590-1500. The fax number is (281) 590-1507. CAGEMA has a World Wide Website: http://www.phoenicianintl.com. 7.1

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Port of Houston MagazineP.O. Box 2562Houston, Texas 77252-2562

Please allow six weeks for change to take effect.

PROFESSIONAL DRUG SCREENING, INC.Specializing in the needs of the

Marine Community in the Gulf of Mexico

24 Hours A Day - 365 Days A Year

Post-Accident, Random and On-site TestingGregory A. Porter, R.Ph.

401 Oak Street ¯ La Marque, Texas 77568

(713) 675-3784 ¯ (409) 938-7232/24 hrs. ¯ Telex: 337-1319 PDP/MMU ̄ Fax: (409) 938-8837

HOUSTON ° GALVESTON ° CORPUS CHRISTI ° NEW ORLEANS ° OFFSHORE GULF OF MEXICO

14

Fireboat Crew

Above: Gary Havard steers theBRACEWELL as L.G. West, Mack Newelland Ruben Arredondo talk on the deck.

a major incident here. The Port Authori-

ty and the industries in this area are verystringent about cnfi~rcing fire and safetycodes."

PHA firefighters undergo extensivetraining. They must be state certified fi)rfire suppression and federally certified for

hazardous materials response. They alsomust receive state certification as emer-gency medical technicians. Last year, themarine department provided more than

900 hours of basic certification and con-tinuing education training for its boatcrews. Next year, senior PHA firefighterswill attend the National Fire Academyin Washington, where they will receivetraining in incident command. Incidentcommand is a defined organizationalstructure for managing emergency

response.When they’re not in training, crew-

men spend many hours maintaining thefireboats and firefighting equipment. Inaddition, their day-to-day duties includeinspecting port facilities for fire code andsafety compliance, issuing permits fi~rwelding on PHA property and inspectingfire extinguishers, hydrants, pumps andwater mains.

"Our firefighters spend a lot of timeon standby," Arredondo says, "But fewpeople realize it takes an enormousamount of training, maintenance, man-power and expcnse to prepare fi~r emer-gency response." {21

Robin Maritime Agencies, L.L.C.NORTH AMERICAN PORT AGENCY SERVICES

14950 Heathrow Forest Pkwy., St. 270 ̄ Houston, Texas 77032

~ RCSINTERMODALTRANSPORTATION, INC.

Serving the Intermodal Industry Since 1978

OFFERING LOCAL AND OVER

THE ROAD CONTAINER SERVICE

~/BONDED CARRIER

I/’ CHASSIS AVAILABLE

I/’ TRANSFER DOCK

¢’ WAREHOUSE

SHOP SERVICES

BILINGUAL / SPANISH

BOB SMITH

PHONE: FAX:

713.227-4000 713-227-444415

RATING5 OFQuality is ii~ tbe papera,ork u’e do... Notjztst a tvoJzl u,e use/Quality is i~z our boxes zvt> build ever l, otto,...Noljztst a word we use/Quality caJz heft, It... come,/be>/our qttalit3,/

PERSONAL SERVICE - REASONABLE COST

¯ Project Space / Office Space Available

¯ 40,000 Square Feet and 40 Dock High Doors¯ Seven Acres of Outside Storage / Secured & Lighted

¯ Computerized Tracking / Turn Key Capability¯ Off-Site Specialist / New Material

oastalrating

pany, Inc.2334 Gulf Terminal Drive - Houston, Texas 77023

Phone: (713) 926-1880 ¯ Fax: (713) 926-1778

TANK C

Services Available Worldwide

ICOMPLETE SERVICES IN SHIPAND SHORE TANK CLEANING

*Tank cleaning, chemical cleaning, dry cargo, hold preparation

¯ Ship’s crew assistance available with consulting and equipment

* Dirty water and slops disposal

¯ Paint preparation by high pressure water blasting and painting

. Line moling to clean plugged or dirty lines

¯ Gas freeing for hot work or change of cargoes, such as oil tograin, chemical to chemical

¯ 15 water blasting units available from 10 GPM at 10,000 P.S.I.to over 100 GPM at 3,000 P.S.I. with multi-gun operation

¯ Port-to-port cleaning

References available ¯ Please call for your next cleaning quote.

COASTAL: HYDRO SERVICE619 Broadway ̄ Houston, Texas 77012

Phone: (713) 926-3213 ̄ Fax: (713) 923-5150

New PortCommissioner

(Co,llim¢ed./)’om Pclge and see what kind of ideas we couldcome up with."

Ned Holmes, chairman of the PortCommission, remarked during the recentswearing-in ceremony that "Steve hasdistinguished himself in both businessand his personal life." indeed, Phelps hasbeen inw~lved with numerous organiza-tions. He serves on the Clear Creek Edu-cation Foundation Board and Universityof Houston at Clear Lake 1)evelopmentand Advisory Board. He also has heldleadership roles with the Bay AreaMuseum Board, YMCA and many otherorganizations, in addition, Phelps hasserved as a w~lunteer auctioneer formorc than 50 charitable groups, includ-ing the Houston Seafarers Gala.

His many honors and awards includeDistinguished Alumni recognition bythe University of Houston at Clear Lakeand San Jacinto College. He was includ-ed in Who’s Who in the South and South-west. He also was named one of theOutstanding Young Men of America andOutstanding Young Man of Pasadena.Phelps and his wife, Jana, have three

children, Becky, Johnny and Bethany. ~i

Wilhelmsen LinesTo Call Houston

Wilhehnsen Lines has announced theinauguration of a monthly service fromthe Port of Houston to Saudi Arabia andEast Asia.

Destinations will include Jeddah,Saudi Arabia; Kobe and Yokohama,Japan; Singapore; Keehmg, Taiwan; andHong Kong. The line will operate threeRO/RO vessels capable of handlingbreakbulk, project cargo and a wide vari-ety of roll-on, roll-off cargo.

The Houston agent is Barwil Agen-cies (NA) Inc., a fully owned subsidiaryof Wilh. Wilhelmsen. Further informa-tion may be obtained by calling (713)862-5575. Faxes may be sent to (713)862-8199.~

16

Port of Houston Authority HoldsAnnual Reception in San Francisco

Each fall, the Port of Houston Authoritystages a reception to maintain communi-cations with PHA’s customers on theU.S. West Coast. This year’s event washeld in the World Trade Club in San Fran-cisco’s Ferry Building.

Above: Houston Port CommissionerRobert Gillette (center) talks with MaerskInc. executives Rob Warren (left) andStephen Barnett.At Right: Tim Rhein of APL Limited (left)and John Horan of PHA discuss tradetrends.Below: Shown (from left) are RainerLilienthal, PHA; Jens Klie, Deugro Inc.;Josef Huels, Jacky Maeder Corp.; Capt.Gerhard Jacob, Hapag Lloyd; and GeorgeWilliamson, PHA.

Palletized Trucking Inc."Since 1969"

One of Houston’s Most CompleteLocal Transportation Companies

Specialists on All Types Volume Freight Shipments

¯ Winch Trucks¯ 11-Axle Siebert Trailers¯ Heavy Hauling¯ Low Boys-3 & 4 Axle¯ Floats/Stretch Floats¯ 40’-42’-45’-48’-50’ Vans¯ Containers/Piggy Backs¯ Family Owned & Operated

¯ Complete Project Movements¯ U.S. Custom Bonded #CHL 171¯ Import-Export¯ Direct Discharge¯ Oil Field Machinery & Pipe¯ Rig Moving¯ Warehouse Movements¯ Member TMTA & TSA & ATA

Storage Available At Our TerminalProtected By The Latest Electronic Security System

225-3303Radio Fax: 228-5841

MC#148279Dispatched RRC#36152

2001 Collingsworth

Towing CompanySelects Heliker

Capt. Charles Heliker has been namedvice president, marine division, for Bay-Houston Towing Co.

Heliker is responsible for operationsand marketing of the division, whichserves Houston, Texas City, Galveston,Freeport, Corpus Christi and PortAransas.

He previously worked in AmocoCorp.’s marine group, where he held var-ious positions such as port captain,senior port captain and coordinator.

Prior to his employment at Amoco,Heliker was operations manager forPanocean Anco Tanker Service, wherehe coordinated the U.S. rotation of achemical carrier fleet.

Heliker is a graduate of the U.S. Mer-chant Marine Academy. He holds U.S.Coast Guard and Liberian unlimitedmaster’s licenses for ocean vessels of anygross tonnage. Gi

~ Griffin-Oaks Marine TravelLeaders in international marine travel.

..... ......... .......

:KongHouston

Griffin-Oaks Marine Travel ManagementHouston: 3100 Wilcrest ¯ Suite 365 ° Houston, Texas 77042(800) 713-9065 ° Tel (713) 430-1900 ° Fax (713) 430-1917

EMAIL: [email protected] ¯ Website: http:\www.oaksgroup.com~marine.html

18

Zust Bachmeier Exports RefineryComponents Through PHA’s BarboursCut Terminal

Zust Bachmeier, a freight forwarding compa-ny, recently arranged the shipment of5,000 tons of oil refinery components fromHouston to Jaroslavlj, Russia. Stone andWebster was the supplier for the project.The components are being used to refit theNovojaroslavlj refinery, one of Russia’slargest refineries.

The largest of the pieces were transportedto the Port of Houston Authority’s BarboursCut Container Terminal aboard a multi-axletrailer, then loaded onto the ship by BIGJOHN, a floating derrick crane owned by JoeD. Hughes. Two Lykes Lines vessels trans-ported the components to St. Petersburg.The two sailings were scheduled in rapidsuccession because some of Russia’s north-ernmost ports freeze in September. At St.Petersburg, some of the pieces were trans-ferred onto rail; the larger pieces - whichweigh up to 50 metric tons - were trans-ferred to barge and taken up the Volga River.

¯ -~,~ M/V ATL~NT~~ TRADER DischargesSteel at PHA’S Turning Basin Terminal

~~ TRADER recently made- /~~’~ tO the Port of Houston.~;,~:-’ ..... for, Toko Line, discharged

-- steel at the Port of Houston Authority’sTurning Basin Terminal. Fritz Maritime

~._. :=gencies represents Toko Line. Attending a~rage plaque presentation in the~e are (from left) John Ryd-

~’~ "~~’Cbar ie Estavillo, master ofthe sh!p~.and Clarence Dewint Jr. of Fritz

MSC ANTONIA Joins Mediterranean Shipping’sNorthern European and Relay Services

The M/V MSC ANTON/A, operated by Mediterranean Shipping Co., recently called at the Port of Houston for thefirst time. The 1,600-TEU ship stopped at the Port ofHouston Authority’s Barbours Cut Terminal¯ The ANTONIAsails in MSC’s Northern European and relay services.

Attending a maiden voyage plaque presentation aboard theship are (from left) Chief Officer Sulicic Vinko; JohnChankin, Tracy Fitzmorris and Marie Rebstock of MSC;Capt. Gabriello Savarene, master of the ship; and RobertMorgan, Mervin Schaefer and Bruce Mastrom of the PortAuthority.

ACCES~BI LITYRELOCATED, REORGANIZED AND RESPONSIVE,

NT E RMARI N E’ S HOUSTON OFFICE PROVIDES YOU THE FINEST CUSTOMER SERVICE AVAILABLE.

0 ACCOMMODATE OUR PHENOMENAL GROWTH WE HAVE RELOCATED TO A NEW, SPACIOUS SUITE, ADDED

TAFF, RESTRUCTURED DUTIES, INTRODUCED STATE OF THE ART COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND

XPANDED OUR PHONE SYSTEMS. ALL TO MEET YOUR EXACTING NEEDS. WE UNDERSTAND THAT OCEAN

ERVICE STARTS ON LAND, AND OUR SHORE SIDE STAFF IS SECOND TO NONE. LET US HELP YOU

ATCH ONE OF OUR FIVE TO SIX SAILINGS A WEEK FROM HOUSTON TO DESTINATIONS

HROUGHQUT THE CARIBBEAN, ALL COASTS OF SOUTH AMERICA, THE MID-EAST,

NDIA/PAKISTAN AND FAR EAST. NO ONE OFFERS MORE FREQUENT, HIGHER QUALITY

ERVICE. CALL US AND EXPERIENCE INTERMARINE’S ABILITY TO DELIVER MORE THAN PROMISES.

f:

Some People Can’tSee The ForestFor The Trees.

At Cooper/T, Smith we can see boththe forest and the trees. We have madea strong commitment to the pulp andpaper industry through eqmpment.engineering and service. It’s what ourcustom:ers call "strength throughdlverslt. And at Cooper/T, Smith, webuild on it every day

¯ i hPort eooper/T. Smlt~iWH)OR1NG

Port of Houston MagazineP.O. Box 2562Houston, Texas 77252-2562

BULK RATEU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT NO. 1395HOUSTON, TEXAS


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