HOUSTON, Sept. 21, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- The operations of all public facilities of the Port of Houston Authority (PHA) will cease by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, September 21 in advance of Hurricane Rita. All non-essential PHA personnel will be released from duties until PHA facilities reopen on Monday, September 26 at 6:00 a.m.
The eight public port facilities that are owned, operated or leased by the PHA include:
-- Bulk Materials Handling Plant -- Turning Basin Terminal -- Barbours Cut Container Terminal -- Woodhouse Terminal -- Houston Public Grain Elevator -- Jacintoport Terminal -- Care Terminal -- Galveston Container Terminal
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, more than 6,600 vessels call at the port, which ranks first in the U.S. in foreign waterborne tonnage, second in overall total tonnage, and sixth largest in the world. 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. 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
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