HOUSTON, April 27, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- During their April 27 meeting, the Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority authorized use of nearly $1.5 million from EPA's National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance program to reimburse Maersk Line for use of cleaner fuel.
Port Authority Chief Executive Officer Alec Dreyer had good news in his monthly financial report. "March continued to evidence an improving economic situation and more signs are beginning to point towards a more 'V-like' recovery rather than an elongated 'U' recovery, which had been our prevailing assumption," he said.
Dreyer reported that import and total steel tonnages in March continued to trend upward from low levels in late 2009. "In fact, March 2010 steel tonnage was the best month we've seen since April 2009," he said.
In addition, container TEUs to date have increased 18 percent, with loaded and empty containers showing 10 percent and 42 percent increases, respectively. The loaded TEUs for this year were split 67 percent export and 33 percent import, while empties (one-third of the total volume) were split 87 percent import and 13 percent export.
"As a result, we're seeing growth in empties at our facilities—pre-positioning for export—which guides us to continue to be bullish on the economic recovery," Dreyer said. "Overall, our TEUs were split 51 percent export and 49 percent import year-to-date through March."
ENGINEERING & REAL ESTATE MATTERS
(Agenda H2) Commissioners approved awarding a $261,103 construction contract to Metropolitan Landscape Management, Inc. for landscaping the west end sight and sound berm at Bayport Container and Cruise Terminal. The project will enhance the western 2,000 feet of the berm, which begins at the intersection of Old State Highway 146 and Red Bluff Road. The contract includes planting and one year of maintenance for 585 trees, 842 evergreen shrubs, and native grass cover.
OPERATIONS MATTERS
(Agenda L1) Commissioners approved awarding a $5.5 million, two-year contract to Pumpelly Oil Company, LLC for the purchase of unleaded gasoline and ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel for equipment at Barbours Cut, Bayport and Turning Basin terminals.
(Agenda L2) Commissioners approved amending Tariff No. 8 to provide for a special dockage rate for barges to lay at Port Authority wharves while awaiting loading or discharge docks within the Port of Houston and increase the free time for inbound direct discharge steel to 15 days. These changes would take effect on May 1.
A shortage of barge fleeting areas on the Houston Ship Channel has resulted in barges being left in areas that create unsafe navigational conditions on the ship channel and intercoastal waterway. Separately, additional free time is being sought to help provide relief to importers of steel products under the current economic conditions, without negatively impacting dock availability and cargo operations. This measure is viewed as a short-term adjustment based upon space availability and may be readjusted as necessary.
ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS
(Agenda P5) Commissioners approved using nearly $1.5 million of EPA's National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program funds to reimburse Maersk Line for the differential cost of lower emissions fuel on the shipping line's vessels calling at Port Authority wharves. Last November, Maersk Line and EPA's Office of International Affairs conducted a fuel switching demonstration project using this fuel on commercial cargo vessels at Houston's port and two other ports in Mexico.
The Port of Houston Authority owns and operates the public facilities located along the Port of Houston, the 25-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities designed for handling general cargo, containers, grain and other dry bulk materials, project and heavy lift cargo, and other types of cargo. Each year, there are more than 7,700 vessel calls at the port, which ranks first in the U.S. in foreign waterborne tonnage and second in overall total tonnage. The port authority plays a vital role in ensuring navigational safety along the Houston Ship Channel, which has been instrumental in Houston's development as a center of international trade. The Barbours Cut Container Terminal and Central Maintenance Facility are the first of any U.S. port facilities to develop and implement an innovative Environmental Management System that meets the rigorous standards of ISO 14001. The second recertification of those facilities in 2009 included an extension for the state-of-the-art Bayport Container Terminal. The port authority is the first port authority in the world to receive ISO 28000:2007 certification for its port police and the perimeter security operations at both the Barbours Cut and Bayport Terminals. Additionally, the port is an approved delivery point for Coffee "C" futures contracts traded on the New York Board of Trade's Coffee, Sugar & Cocoa Exchange. For more information, please visit www.portofhouston.com
To access the port's Web site photo gallery, please visit http://www.portofhouston.com/publicrelations/publicrelations.html and click the link for Port Authority Photo Gallery.
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