Weekly News Summary For October 10-16, 2005:
After several years of operations in Mobile, Ala., the USS LST (325) Ship Memorial has found a new home. A poor location and harsh saltwater took its toll on the success of the memorial and condition of the ship, so those involved decided to search for a new location to embrace the historic vessel.
The amphibious war ship was built in 1942 for the Navy and made several tours of duty before it was sold to the Greek Navy for service. In 2000 it was acquired by the USS LST Memorial and transported to Mobile in 2001 after Greece decommissioned it.
Capt. Robert Jornlin, a seaman who worked on LST ships and is now active with the USS LST Ship Memorial, said they sent out letters to select cities in the Midwest deemed “good fits” for the ship. Of that recruitment, Peoria, Ill, Jeffersonville, Ind., and Evansville, Ind., were actively interested.
“We wrote letters to cities in the Midwest and we got about five responses,” he said. “Of those responses, we got those three cities that wanted more information. Jeffersonville and Evansville were able to put something in writing, but the people in Evansville were the most responsive. It was tremendous; everyone there said they wanted us to come. The press was always there and the city already had a connection to the LSTs.”…
TexCom Resources Inc. and LBC Houston LP announced plans last week to build and operate a new 30-million-gallon-per-year biodiesel plant at LBC’s bulk liquids terminal in Seabrook, Texas.
Under a letter of intent signed by both firms, TexCom will construct the plant, which will convert virgin soybean oil into biodiesel and use existing onsite storage capacity and other terminal facilities under a long-term lease from LBC.
Project design includes the capability to store conventional petroleum diesel, allowing TexCom to blend and market B20 and other biodiesel blends as well as B100. Feedstock will be brought in via barge to the site, located near the Houston Ship Channel, to produce the renewable fuel.
TexCom is in the process of securing funding for the project with a goal of getting construction underway by mid fourth quarter of 2005. Plans are to have the plant fully operational and producing biodiesel by the fourth quarter of 2006.
“By locating our biodiesel production unit at an existing bulk terminal facility, we will be reducing our initial capital cost for the project and, at the same time, increasing our capability to serve the local fuels distribution market,” said Louis A. Ross, TexCom president….
Market and customer pressures will drive changes in the way container shipping lines do business, changing the face of the industry over the next 10 years, said a study released by the IBM Institute for Business Value.
“Despite record oil prices, geopolitical instability and other systemic risks such as terrorism, port shutdowns and strikes, we assume that trade liberalization and globalization will fuel industrywide growth,” the study said.
Authors of the study added they expect customers will “continue to demand greater reliability at lower total cost—resulting in a trend toward end-to-end integration and more tightly synchronized supply chains.”
“A decade from now, land-based providers will have acquired the capabilities necessary to offer door-to-door services with parcel industry standards of reliability—largely in collaboration with some container shipping lines that are focused port-to-port providers,” the authors added.
The study projects a new element of competition will come from the “package delivery providers” such as DHL, UPS and TNT….
Gary P. LaGrange, president and chief executive officer of the Port of New Orleans, was honored last week by the National Rivers Hall of Fame with its National Achievement Award.
The award was presented as a part of Waterways Council Inc.’s Fall Symposium and Annual Meeting in Chicago.
LaGrange’s life-long commitment to the maritime industry and inland waterways system is reflected in the numerous leadership positions he has held at state, regional and national levels. In his present position at the Port of New Orleans, and in previous port-related positions, LaGrange has promoted the nation’s inland waterways system as an economic generator, attracting private sector investment and creating family wage jobs for all Americans. Now with the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, his time and energy is focused on making the Port of New Orleans fully operational for the health of the national and regional economy.
“Mr. LaGrange was selected for this award before hurricane Katrina,” said National Rivers Hall of Fame Executive Director Jerry Enzler, “but his efforts since Katrina to restore this valuable port to our national transportation system only highlights the important role that he has played and continues to play in American riverways.”…
The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA), the organization representing public ports throughout the Western Hemisphere, reported last week that Congressional leaders have come to a final agreement to fund the fiscal year 2006 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) budget, which will provide money for the Port Security Grant (PSG) program’s sixth round.
Congress rejected the Bush administration’s proposal to eliminate port security grants and lump them into a single DHS-controlled discretionary program for all modes of transportation, AAPA said. Instead, Congress agreed to provide individual funding levels for each transportation mode’s security program, including programs for ports, transit and rail.
The compromise agreement, which must still be ratified by the House and Senate and signed by the president, appropriates $175 million for the next round of port security grant funding. This represents an even split between the Senate’s appropriation recommendation of $200 million and the House’s recommendation of $150 million….
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