the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge.
and the Globalplex Intermodal Terminal, the port’s public facility.
traffic.
Shell, etc. However, the port also serves as landlord to five
purchase agreements.
Commissioners. The facilities within St. Charles, St. John the
Baptist, and St. James parishes (counties) handled over 226mt
via vessels and barges.
the country for export tonnage and total tonnage.
exports, respectively.
handled. However, this was followed in second place by maize at
21% (47.6mt). Petrochemicals came third, with soyabeans in
fourth place at 16% (35.6mt). So bulk (and breakbulk) cargoes
represent a major source of income for the port.
The Port of South Louisiana has five first-rate portowned
facilities, ranging from grain elevators to general
cargo facilities. It serves as landlord of these, which are
leased to operating companies such as Occidental
Chemical and Archer Daniels Midland. The exception is
the Globalplex Intermodal Terminal, purchased by the Port
in 1992 that is being redeveloped into a world-class
complex to accommodate a variety of dry bulk and
breakbulk cargo.
The port’s goals are:
- to serve the maritime transportation needs of its resident industry;
- to assist resident industry in the development of maritime and/or industrial facilities;
- to encourage foreign and domestic investment within the River Parishes Region and Louisiana; and
- to attract foreign and domestic cargo to the Globalplex Intermodal Terminal.
The River Region truly offers an intermodal transportation
network of waterways, roadways, rail, and air, an advantage
resident companies enjoy. The region sits at the intersection of
the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico, which allows
speedy and expeditious distribution of products throughout the
Americas and to the world.
GLOBALPLEX INTERMODAL TERMINALAs its name suggest, this is a world-class intermodal terminal. It
offers storage and warehousing, space for light manufacturing
and a very active Foreign Trade Zone.
Based in the heart of the Port of South Louisiana’s
jurisdiction is a 335-acre (135-hectare), the Globalplex
Intermodal Terminal is a public terminal — owned by the Port of
South Louisiana and operated by Associated Terminals and
Kinder-Morgan — for both vessels and barges. It provides
handling and storage for bulk, breakbulk, and containerized
cargoes. Globalplex is an excellent location for manufacturing,
distribution, and logistics companies.
Formerly a sugar refining complex and an integral part of the
economic and social history of the region, the Globalplex
Intermodal Terminal is a one-of-a-kind public facility on the
lower Mississippi River. Its redevelopment is guided by a master
plan that focuses on the dynamic needs of today’s shippers and
manufacturers. Flexibility, efficiency, and connectivity are the
hallmarks of the redesign and new construction.
Globalplex Bulk Terminal
Globalplex Intermodal Terminal’s deep-draught bulk terminal is
dedicated to handling materials including, but not limited to,
cement, mineral ores, and woodchips. This terminal, operated by
Kinder-Morgan, is equipped with a Carlsen screw-type unloader
for special handling of cement. The cement facility, which
includes dome storage, is one of the largest in the United States.
Cargo is quickly moved to and from landside storage via an
extensive covered conveyor system.
TRANSPORTATION
WaterWithin the 108 miles (174 kilometres) of deepwater frontage on
both banks of the Mississippi River are more than 50 piers and
docks. Vessels draughting 45 feet (14 metres) call at the port
district throughout the year. Rarely is river commerce halted
because of river depth or weather conditions.
The Port of South Louisiana transfers cargo to and from
vessels and barges arriving in the lower Mississippi River. The
inland barge system, comprised of 19,262 miles (30,992
kilometers) of waterway, moves more than 233mt of cargo
upriver to major US markets in the Midwest and Northeast.
HighwaysThree major interstate highways connect the Port of South
Louisiana to major US markets. Interstate 10 extends across the
nation from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Interstate 55 reaches
points as far north as Chicago, Detroit, and St. Paul.
Interstate 59, which originates near the port’s northern
boundary, allows direct entry to cities in the eastern United
States. Just within 600 miles are 20 metropolitan area
markets in the southeast US accessible via these interstates.
Throughout the port’s jurisdiction, an excellent state
highway system feeds traffic to these major interstate
arteries. Shipments can flow easily, without congestion, into
the mainstream of the interstate highway system.
RailThe Port of South Louisiana is served by three trunk line
railroads, two on the east bank of the Mississippi River and
one on the west bank. The Union Pacific railroad on the
west bank provides service to western US markets, whereas
the Canadian National and Kansas City Southern railroads,
both on the east bank, serve the mid-continental United
States, Canada, and Mexico.
Associated continues newbuild programme
For the fifth time since 2007, Associated Terminals has ordered a new crane from Gottwald Port Technology. This will be its fourth Generation 5, mobile harbour crane. Conrad Industries has again been selected to construct the new 250ft x 72ft x 12ft deck barge for the pedestal-mounted crane. This will be the third barge constructed by Conrad for Associated. This project is scheduled for completion in March this year (2011).
Commenting on the significant events, David Fennelly, President, Associated Terminals stated, “This year has been another busy one for our company starting with the delivery of two floating cranes, the sale of several older floating cranes and most recently commencing construction of our fifth Gottwald. The fact that these projects have all occurred in a single year is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team.” This project is another step towards Associated’s goal of operating the most efficient and safest equipment on the Lower Mississippi River.
Since its founding Associated Terminals has lived by its motto: “the ability and attitude to accomplish anything for our
customers.” With this spirit, the company offers creative solutions for transloading dry bulk and general cargo, and it operates facilities across the US Gulf South.
Norton Lilly addresses contentious issue of vessel hold cleaning
Keeping the holds of vessels clean is vital in the bulk handling
process. Failure to clean holds properly after use can result in
myriad problems, including cross-contamination of cargoes. It
can even mean that recipients of cargo reject their consignments
if they consider that their product is not in pristine condition.
On the Lower Mississippi River (mile 55 A.H.P. to mile 229
A.H.P.) as well as other US Gulf ports vessel hold cleaning,
resulting from previous bulk cargoes is a major issue that has to
be dealt with by most vessel owners.
For the most part all vessels have to return with clean holds
prior to taking on their new cargoes. In the USA, when the
‘new’ cargo is grain or grain-by-products, then the standard of
‘clean holds’ is higher, having to pass both National Cargo
Bureau, Inc. (N.C.B.) and United States Department of
Agriculture (U.S.D.A.) inspections. Vessel owners have to be
mindful of the vessels’ previous bulk cargo when fixing grain or
grain-by-products cargoes. Vessel hold cleaning is a very labourintensive
business and as such one has to be cognizant of the
expense that will be incurred, relative to the revenues produced
by the ‘new’ cargo.
There are many companies specializing in expediting vessel
hold cleaning and the subsequent inspection process, saving
shipowners time and money. One such company is Norton Lilly
Cargo Services, LLC (NLCS). NLCS’s goal is to ensure that
vessel hold cleaning is completed in a timely fashion to allow the
immediate tendering of the Notice of Readiness (N.O.R.). The
company’s port captains/superintendents monitor the cleaning
operation and, on occasion, will remain onboard during transit
between ports to ensure load readiness upon arrival on the next
port. NLCS will work either with vessel’s crew (to help
minimize costs), or if this is not feasible, organize shore labour as
well, to complete the cleaning operation and if necessary utilizing
the appropriate cleaning chemicals. Vessels today tend to have
smaller number of crews and as such utilizing them to the
maximum efficiency is a must for a vessel owner.
There are some bulk cargoes that present particular
problems when cleaning vessels’ holds. Both coal (on occasion
Australian coal) and petcoke (petroleum coke) can be rather
oily; pig iron produces iron fines; and cement is so fine that it
will get into every crevice (so additional care is needed in the
cleaning operation to control the residual cement dust). Also
phosphate rock will tend to react to petcoke. These bulk
cargoes will require a greater degree of expertise and
thoroughness in cleaning that is usually not required of other
previously loaded bulk cargoes. One also has to consider the
chemical additives being added to the
‘wash water’ (these chemicals have the
same effectiveness whether using fresh
water or seawater). Some work better
on certain residuals than others; this is
where expertise in the business adds
value. Vessel hold cleaning companies
have learned over the years what
works best and what does not work.
Like everything else in today’s society,
new products are coming on the
market all the time and one has to
trust the service provider to choose
the right product for the right job.
However with many bulk cargoes
such as: barites, woodchips, iron ore,
sand, small rock, urea, iron scrap, H.B.I.,
etc., residuals can be washed out of
vessels’ holds with fresh water or
seawater (fresh water here is defined
as clean uncontaminated water —
either fresh or seawater; however with
seawater, a final rinse of fresh water would be required).
However all ‘wash water’ being discharged over the side in the
Mississippi River from these operations must first obtain a ‘wash
water permit’ from an authorized vessel hold cleaning service
(authorizing entity will be the Department of Environmental
Quality of the state of Louisiana). Otherwise vessels must
transit beyond the 12 nautical mile limit to discharge their ‘wash
water’.
It goes without saying that vessels carrying inbound bulk and
then fixing a breakbulk cargo will not be held to these higher
standards. If possible, a vessel owner should be anticipating one
cargo beyond his current fixture of breakbulk cargo. Proper
vessel hold cleaning is a time and money issue, not to be taken
for granted. The best advice will come from companies that
have the background and expertise to guide the vessel’s owner
through the best options. One also has to keep in mind that
what works in Vancouver, WA (USA) might not work in US Gulf
ports and vice versa.
Oxbow Carbon acquires the ICEC Group
Oxbow Carbon and ICEC have announced the purchase of
the ICEC Group of companies. Terms of the transaction were
not disclosed.
ICEC is a large and diversified third-party provider of
global marketing, operations and logistics services and
manages between six and seven million tonnes of sulphur,
sulphuric acid and fertilizers annually.
Dick Van Meurs and Bill Zisson, ICEC’s co-chief executive
officers commented: “Oxbow provides a unique platform to
support ICEC’s growth objectives. Oxbow’s wealth of
resources and deep experience in logistics and operations will
enhance ICEC’s ability to serve its customers on a worldwide
basis.”
Oxbow Carbon is a private company based in West Palm
Beach, Florida. It was founded in 1984 by chief executive
officer William I. (“Bill”) Koch, who won the America’s Cup in
1992. Under Koch’s leadership, the company has become the
world’s largest marketer of petroleum coke and calcined coke
— a key ingredient in the manufacturing of aluminium. The
company trades in other carbon and industrial products such
as coal, gypsum, metcoke, anthracite and activated carbon.
Oxbow Carbon also owns and operates one of the most
productive underground coal mines in the United States,
producing nearly five million tonnes of super-compliant coal
annually.
“We believe that ICEC is a perfect fit for our company,”
said Bill Koch. “We think their sulphur-based products and
fertilizers complement our strong portfolio and the
employees understand their market and customers. I am very
excited about the possibilities.”
West Palm Beach-based Callisto Partners LLC acted as
exclusive financial advisor to Oxbow on this transaction. TM
Capital served as financial advisor to ICEC.
Port of Lake Charles handles over 4mt of dry bulk cargo each year
The Port of Lake Charles handles most of its bulk cargo at Bulk
Terminal No. 1 (BT-1), a 71-acre facility located on the west side
of the Calcasieu Ship Channel, 30 miles inland from the Gulf of
Mexico in Louisiana.
The terminal processes more than 4mt (million tonnes) of
dry bulk material annually, such as petroleum coke (petcoke),
calcined coke, barite, coal, rutile, anodes, and other dry bulk
commodities.
One of the port’s primary bulk cargoes is petcoke, a
byproduct of the oil refining process. (Lake Charles is home to
two large refineries, Citgo and ConocoPhillips.) The port also
handles shiploads of coal arriving in Lake Charles for use by
Entergy Corporation for the generation of electricity.
The bulk terminal has a 2,200-foot-long wharf and a 40-foot
projected depth at dockside. The facility can accommodate two
vessels for loading simultaneously.
The terminal has two travelling shiploaders,
working simultaneously, can load at a rate of
tonnes per hour) of petcoke (one at 2,000tph
3,200tph). A ship/barge clam-bucket type unloader
system is located at the site and traverses 740
an average unloading rate of 450tph of barite
ship unloader has been ordered for the terminal.
fabricated in New Iberia, Louisiana, and is expected
in service in February 2011, increasing the unloading
efficiency at the terminal.
Other equipment includes a 100-tonne railcar
capable of handling 1,200tph, three separate
hydraulic truck dump, a rail unloading pit, radial
adjacent truck scale.
The site is capable of transfer from vessel
rail, vessel to truck, or to open storage.
The Lower Mississippi River and St. James Stevedoring
Few if any natural features of the United States have the farreaching
impact of the Mississippi River. With a basin covering
more than a million square miles — including all or parts of 31
states and two Canadian provinces — the Mississippi River
drains 41% of the continental United States. The river’s drainage
basin is the world’s third largest, exceeded in size only by the
watersheds of the Amazon and Congo rivers.
The Mississippi plays a central role not only in the US
ecosystem but also as a commercial shipping hub. The five ports
on the lower Mississippi combine to form the nation’s largest
port complex, in terms of tonnage. Between the five — Port of
South Louisiana, The Port of New Orleans, Port of Baton Rouge,
and the Port of Plaquemines — they collectively handled nearly
three hundred million short tonnes in 2009.
From 1997 through 2008, total tonnage on the Mississippi
River has exceeded 300mt (million tonnes) annually, with the
exception of the Hurricane Katrina-affected 2005, according to
the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). During that 12-year
period, food and farm products made up the largest commodity
heading downriver (63mt in 2008), and petroleum and
petroleum products were the largest category heading upriver,
according to USACE.
IS THE MIGHTY MISSISSIPPI UNDERUSED?The unquestionably massive reach of the Mississippi River as a
domestic transportation infrastructure along with and being
ranked the world’s busiest port complex impresses many, but
even after centuries of use, some still consider it underutilized.
The Mississippi River links the heartland of the United States
to the rest of the world through its ports. The inland waterway
system — not just the Mississippi River, but the 14,000 miles of
navigable waterway connected to the Mississippi River — are
probably the nation’s most underutilized natural resource,
especially from a transportation perspective and is poised to
continue to grow.
More and more companies are looking at inland waterway
options as a means to moving their cargo. We must also keep in
mind that the use of the river via barge, represents the most
economical as well as the most environmentally friendly mode of
transporting commodities. Statistics from the US Maritime
Administration (MARAD) highlight the advantages of shipping on
inland waterways. According to MARAD, domestic waterborne
shipping for all waterways in the United States moves 14% of the
national cargo tonnage for less than 2% of the freight bill. It also
provides an estimated 124,000 direct jobs, generates $10 billion
in annual freight revenue, and provides $300 million and $55
million in federal and state tax revenue, respectively.
That’s where we here at St. James Stevedoring comes in. In
business since 1985, St. James celebrated its 25th anniversary in
2010 year. This vast experience means that the company can
provide very efficient transfer of bulk cargo between ocean
vessel and river barge. This direct transloading of cargo provides
five key benefits:
- the number of cranes can be increased or decreased to maximize available facility capacity;
- it minimizes cargo loss through a single ‘touch’ of the product and sealed buckets;
- it greatly reduces or eliminates the possibility of contamination;
- it takes advantage of the inland waterway flexibility; and
- it provides the lowest cost transfers available to shippers.
When a ship arrives in a St. James buoy system, a facility
specific to that operation is created. The ship is primarily held
on its anchors with lines to the head and stern buoys to
position the vessel. Floating cranes are secured to the vessel
with cables. The number of cranes placed alongside the vessel
varies depending on the size of the ship and operational plans.
St. James works on both sides of the ship so the width of the
vessel is not normally an issue. Because the cranes are floating
and the boom heal pin is at 55ft above the crane barge deck, the
workable maximum air draught has never been an issue. The
crane barge can move itself up and down the side of the ship
accessing all holds efficiently. Mid-stream capabilities, using
mobile cranes coupled with the currently stated 47ft (14.33m)
draught in the lower Mississippi, means that St. James can service
any size vessel capable of transiting the Mississippi river, which
includes Capesize vessels.
River barges are brought to the outside of the crane and
connected to a haulage system which allows the barges to be
moved to the most efficient loading position. By placing a
floating crane between the ocean going vessel and the river
barge, St. James efficiently and quickly performs the inter-modal
transfer with mechanical clamshell buckets, grapples, hooks, and
spreader bars. Transfers include bulk products such as fertilizer,
coal, iron ore, furnace coke, cement, grain, ferroalloys, steel,
scrap, pig iron, minerals and ores, as well as products in
super sack bags and heavy lifts and project cargoes.
St. James operates five primary shipmooring sites. Three
buoy sets are located in the Elmwood Fleet of AEP located at Mile
158 AHP in Convent, Louisiana. Two additional buoy sets
are located in the Artco fleet at Mile 122 AHP in Destrehan, Louisiana.
AEP River Operations and Artco provide
fleeting and tug services at their respective locations and both
fleets are obligated to handle any barge presented for a St.
James-stevedored ship. Moving cranes between locations and
between ships means that operations are always flexible.
St. James operates a fleet of six high-capacity Gottwald HPK
floating cranes. Each crane has a gross lift of 40 metric tonnes in
bucket work and 63 metric tonnes in hook operations, all at
118ft radius. A second setting gives a 50 metric tonne gross lift
at 101ft radius. All six have 164ft-long booms and St. James can
reach all parts of the vessel hatch opening reducing the amount
of tractor work in clean-up and speeding cargo operations.
Each St. James Gottwald crane is equipped with an array of
digging buckets, hooks, spreader bars and grapples for the
optimal attachment for the specific cargo being handled. St.
James uses a 44-yard general cargo bucket, 20-yard heavy ore
bucket and 22-yard scrap grapples. There are rubber sealed
buckets to prevent spillage of fine products and all buckets are
bowl shaped with covers to reduce dust and spillage over the
top. With one minute cycle times, the Gottwalds are rated at
1,200tph (depending on cargo type). Bag bars are designed to
handle up to 18 one-tonne bags, the number which fits laterally
in a barge. With experienced crane operators at the helm, St.
James has moved dry bulk commodities with great efficiency.
For example, a recent vessel carrying 77,000 tonnes was
discharged in 1.47 days. This is a daily average of 52,320 tonnes!
St. James’s crane operators have an array of tools to assist in
safe and efficient operations. They sit at 73ft above the deck of
the crane and have a good view of the cargo operations. Boom
tip cameras provide a bird’s eye view of the digging operation.
Load cells protect against over loads and keep a tally of cargo
production levels. An air-conditioned operator’s cab with
joystick operation and captain’s chair means that the operator is
able to comfortably focus on the work at hand. Monitor screens
provide data on crane operating systems and functions.
Additionally, St. James has six friction cranes which are used in
variety of operational roles.
While the aforementioned represent St. James’s stevedoring
‘bones’, it is innovation that lies at the heart of the company.
St. James continuously strives to find new and better ways to
perform the job and improve the experience of its customers.
In 2006 St. James created St. James Technologies. This company
has the prime objective of creating innovations for industry, and
focuses on creating ‘game changing’ technologies that allow for
increased efficiency and safer operations. Some of its
innovations have led to individual patents.
St. James is a company that fully believes that its best
innovations come directly from its workforce. St. James focuses
on getting the personal goals of employees aligned with the
objective of delivering top-quality customer service. To align
goals, St. James employees participate in an aggressive profitsharing
plan that gives one-third of stevedoring profits to its
employees.
Following on the heels of aligning the people has been the
use of statistical process analysis to determine at a detailed level
the opportunities to decrease costs, increase efficiency, and
reduce overall transfer time. This type of analysis has allowed St.
James to better understand the key drivers of speed, efficiency,
and quality of cargo handling, and to subsequently make
improvements either in equipment, process, or people to ensure
it is continuing to improve its performance and deliver the best
product it can.
Next, St. James has been a leader in innovating the equipment
that is used for mid-stream cargo transfers. In 2004 St. James
partnered with Gottwald Port Technology to create the world’s
first floating Gottwald mobile harbour crane. This crane, an
industry standard in container ports, is a highly efficient, electric
drive crane with high cargo capacity and efficient cycle times. All
that leads to faster, safer, and higher quality cargo transfers. The
first crane, christened in 2005, was the Alex G, named in honour
of one of St. James’ founders, Alex Goldberger. Since then, five
additional cranes of this sort have been added to the St. James
fleet. The ultimate sign of being an industry leader has been the
adoption of this crane by 20+ organizations globally, including
other competitor stevedores located right here on the
Mississippi River.
St. James’s impressive list of customers includes companies
such as ADM, Cargill, Koch, Yara, Transammonia, Nucor, AK Steel,
DJJ, Exxon and many more.