New IRPT Tool Helps Ports Prepare
Inland Rivers, Ports and Terminals Inc. (IRPT) has launched a new tool on its website designed to help ports weather extreme conditions, whether they are caused by Mother Nature or in the world of cybersecurity.
IRPT deputy director Anthony Gex said the organization’s new Port and Terminal Resiliency Initiative aims to bridge a gap in experience between the oldest, fast-retiring group and those just coming up in the industry.
According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 24.5 percent of all U.S. transportation workers are over the age of 55, Gex said. He pointed out that for more than two decades, the 55-plus age group has been the fastest growing age group in the workforce, which means more workers are making plans to retire in the next decade.
Meanwhile, across the inland towing fleet, the vacancy among licensed mariner positions is 20 to 25 percent, “and some of that works its way to ports and terminals,” Gex said.
“So, you can see, you have an older, experienced workforce starting to retire and come out (of the workforce), and you have a younger, capable workforce coming in, but you’ll notice an experience gap,” he said.
Gex will speak more about this issue and how IRPT is hoping to help address it during his session at the Inland Marine Expo, presented by The Waterways Journal, on Friday, May 29. The session, from 11:15 a.m. to noon, is titled Port & Terminal Resilience: Disaster Planning & Operational Recovery.
IRPT began its resilience initiative, which launched earlier this year, by thinking about the types of disasters for which port directors and terminal operators should make sure their facilities are prepared: from hurricanes to low-river conditions, flooding, winter weather, physical security and cyber security. Then, it organized information on its website under the “initiatives” tab under the “resilience” menu by topics. Information provided includes current alerts, preparation checklists, member resources, options for grant funding to improve resiliency and a glossary of useful terms.
Maintaining the continued operability of ports and terminals is not just important to owners and operators but also to the nation as a whole, Gex said. He noted that $158 billion in goods move on the U.S. inland waterway system annually and that barge traffic accounts for 46 percent of U.S. grain exports.
“So resiliency and stability for the inland river system mean a lot,” he said.
Of those issues likely to cause some of the costliest damage to ports and terminals, Gex noted that the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season alone cost an estimated $41.1 billion in supply chain disruptions across U.S. ports.
Additionally, low water and drought cost $565 million in agriculture exports losses from Louisiana ports alone in 2022, he said.
Cybersecurity is not always talked about as openly as other kinds of risks, Gex said, with many private companies electing to resolve issues internally.
“But it’s there, and it’s not if, it’s when you’re going to have a cybersecurity event,” he said.
The average cost of a cybersecurity breach in the transportation sector is $4.4 million, Gex said, and he cited statistics indicating that maritime cyber incidents rose 150 percent between 2020 and 2025.
Gex urged port directors planning for potential disasters to check with their insurance agents to make sure their coverage is up to date and covers all current assets. Many times insurance companies have evaluators and come out to do a risk assessment free of charge, he added. He also recommended developing a crisis management plan and said the printable checklists IRPT is offering as part of its resilience tool can easily be customized to pertain to individualized port needs.
Gex also encouraged IRPT members to send in additional information that they believe may be of value to port and terminal owners to continue growing the association’s information base.
