Louisiana Port News

Only one of three available areas was sold during the United States' first ever offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday.The auction, held by the Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) offered up three sites for offshore wind development, including one in Louisiana (Lake Charles) and two in Texas (Galveston I and II). Together, the three shallow water sites contain a theoretical potential of 3.7 gigawatts (GW). While 16 companies had prequalified to participate in the auction, bid activity was subdued.

U.S. maritime and logistics company Crowley said it has made a deal that could see it lease and develop an offshore wind terminal in Louisiana's Port Fourchon.The Right of First Refusal agreement was reached during Wednesday’s Greater Lafourche Port Commission (GLPC) Board Meeting in Cut Off, La.The more than 40-acre site, encompassing over 2,200 linear feet of waterfront property, is expected to become the home of a purpose-driven offshore wind facility in the coming years. Located on Slip C…

The Port of South Louisiana (Port SL) said it has reached a deal with T. Parker Host to buy the Avondale Global Gateway, a logistics hub at site of the former Avondale Shipyard.The acquisition of this 254-acre facility at mile 108 of the Mississippi River will allow the port to be more competitive in traditional international trade and focus on the new frontier of renewable energy development, Port SL said.The purchase and sale agreement was announced Thursday by Port SL CEO Paul Matthews following unanimous approval from the port commission.

Crews were expected to replace a damaged oil pipeline piece by the end of the day on Friday, a Louisiana port official said, allowing for the resumption of production at seven offshore U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil platforms.A failed flange connecting two pipelines operated by Shell in Louisiana caused about two barrels of oil to leak, said Chett Chiasson, executive director of Greater Lafourche Port Commission. The oil has since been removed.Shell on Thursday shut its Mars, Ursa, and…

The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating damage to a Noble Corp drillship hit by Hurricane Ida while operating in the Gulf of Mexico, a spokesperson said on Thursday.Nine crew members suffered minor injuries when the storm hit on Sunday, Noble said. Workers were treated onboard and four were taken to shore for evaluation, Noble's vice-president for Investor Relations Craig Muirhead said in a statement.The U.S.

A record number of cruise ship passengers traveled through the Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) in 2018.The official tally - 1,182,111 - marked a 2.3 percent increase from 2017 and the fifth consecutive year of hitting the coveted 1 million passenger mark at the port's cruise terminal facilities.A 23 percent surge in guests taking Mississippi River cruises helped buoy the total, with new and larger ships set to sail from New Orleans both in the Caribbean and on the River in 2019.“Port NOLA’s success is due in large part to the hard work of the stevedores, labor, cruise terminal staff and the support of local businesses and tourism partners,” said Brandy D.

The Mississippi River Ship Channel could be the first port complex on the Gulf Coast to reach a depth of 50 feet now that the Director’s Report has been signed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Elected officials and industry leaders have long worked to increase the channel’s depth to 50 feet, which is the same depth of the expanded Panama Canal.In signing the Report, Corps of Engineers Director of Civil Works James C. Dalton stated the project is “economically justified and…

A second supertanker laden with U.S. crude set sail in March from the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), the largest privately owned crude terminal in the United States, the company said in a statement late on Tuesday. The very large crude carrier (VLCC), Nave Photon, was chartered by Houston-based Shell Trading Company US and the cargo was headed for Asia, according to market sources familiar with the matter and Reuters vessel tracking data. It was not immediately clear which grade of U.S. crude was being exported. A spokesman for LOOP did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The West Calcasieu Port Board of Commissioners voted this week to award the contract for the dredging of the Louisiana port's west barge basin to Coastal Dredging Company, Inc. of Hammond, La.. The successful base bid of $1,334,020 was the lowest among six bids received by the port during its competitive public bid process. “The West Cal Port Board of Commissioners was encouraged to have received such a large number of bid packets for the project,” said Dick Kennison, board president for the West Calcasieu Port.

Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) and its family of companies has reached a 30-month alliance agreement with BP, the largest energy investor in deepwater Gulf of Mexico over the past decade. Chouest and BP have enjoyed a business alliance for over eight years, and the new alliance will continue to include Chouest affiliates ECO (vessel services), C-Port (multi-service terminal facilities in Louisiana’s Port Fourchon) and C-Logistics (logistics coordination, expediting and tracking cargo movement). Items in the alliance agreement include a three-year extension for utilization of BP’s Gulf of Mexico Preservation and Maintenance facility, designed and built by Chouest, and located at the intersection of Hwy. 90 and LA 311, just northwest of Houma, La.

The United States imported a 272,000-barrel cargo of Bolivian condensate bought by trading firm Trafigura last week after more favorable crude spreads prompted larger purchases of foreign oil last month, according to traders and ThomsonReuters data. Refining and trading companies in the United States turned to crude and condensate imports in February to find cheap oil after the arbitrage opened as a result of an inversion in the spread between benchmark U.S. crude oil prices and Brent. Purchases of African crudes increased to 11.66 million barrels in February, the highest volume since October including Nigerian condensate, according to the same data. Most crudes arriving were light and sweet, competing with U.S. grades.

Vice President Joe Biden toured the Port’s new Mississippi River Intermodal Terminal today before making remarks commemorating the 7th anniversary of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act at the Port’s Riverfront Plaza. “I’m here today to talk about smart investments we made in shaping the future of the economy in Louisiana and around the country,” Vice President Biden told a crowd of more than 150 invited guests at the Port. The Port received a $16.7 million Transportation…

Proliferation of energy related transport continues to drive commercial U.S. As the United States aims towards energy independence by the end of this decade, domestic shipyards and vessels owners are reaping rewards from this most unexpected turn of events. Hydraulic Fracturing, or fracking, has been the main (and well publicized) culprit in the rapid turn of events. While the proliferation of gas has been widely known for years, the presence of oil, in quantity, was a pleasant…

The Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans awarded a $13.3 million construction contract to Metairie, La.-based Hard Rock Construction LLC today for the Mississippi River Intermodal Terminal improvement project at its monthly meeting. Hard Rock Construction was the lowest of eight bidders. The 12-acre project will result in a modern and efficient intermodal container transfer terminal to facilitate the movement of marine and rail cargo, while enhancing safety and reducing the carbon footprint of the regional and national transportation system.

Louisiana-based boat manufacturer Metal Shark announced it has commenced operations at its new shipyard, where the first of its recently announced Endurance-class catamarans is now in production. In January, Metal Shark acquired a 25-acre waterfront tract situated on the Charenton Bypass Canal in Franklin, Louisiana, and announced plans to develop the new property into a facility to support its planned aluminum and steel shipbuilding efforts for vessels up to 250’ in length. Six months later, the new facility is operational and production is underway.

Change in leadership is opportunity to demonstrate economic value Louisiana waterways provide nation, highlight need for federal investment. U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., announced that she has secured a commitment from Shaun Donovan, the nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), to meet with Louisiana port and navigation officials in Louisiana later this summer. Donovan, who currently serves as the Secretary for Housing and Urban Development, made the commitment to Sen.

Lockport, La.-based Bollinger Shipyards, Inc. is humming with work from oil and gas companies and government agencies. Family-owned and operated, Bollinger has 10 shipyards -- nine in south Louisiana and one in Texas -- along with 28 drydocks and 3,000 employees in four administrative locations. Last month, we caught up with Ben Bordelon, Bollinger’s Executive Vice President of Repair, for his outlook on the firm and the Gulf of Mexico. Bordelon is the nephew of Boysie Bollinger, who has been at the helm as CEO since 1985.

Companies building vessels on the U.S. Gulf are servicing a flock of domestic and overseas clients while their offshore oil and gas customers wait for Washington to issue more drilling permits and safety rules. Some of the region's builders are busy making repairs. After a federal ban on deepwater drilling ended in October — three months after BP's well was capped — the Gulf remains quiet, but industry members expect business to improve eventually. Gulf vessel builders have seemingly ignored an old sailors' warning to “never plant you right and left feet in two different boats.” Instead…

The Coast Guard is searching for the captain of the 52-foot towing vessel, Gate-Way, that sunk with two people onboard near Norco, La., on the Mississippi River. At approximately 12:30 a.m on January 2, 2008, Sector New Orleans received a call from the towing vessel Secretariat as well as from the dispatch operartor of the Saint Rose Fleet facility reporting that the Gate-Way sank while working with the Secretariat. One crewmember was rescued by the Secretariat and transported by Upper Saint Rose Fleet to a relative's home. Air Station New Orleans launched an HH-65C rescue helicopter and the New Orleans Marine Safety and Security Team has searched with two 25-foot vessels. Coast Guard Station New Orleans is currently on scene with a 41-foot boat. St.

The only road in and out of Port Fourchon, Louisiana, the main U.S. staging point for deepwater oil and natural-gas production, sits just 2 to 3 feet (61 to 91 centimeters) above the marshland. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita largely spared the road, Louisiana Highway 1, because neither struck Fourchon directly. According to Bloomberg, officials are worried that the upcoming hurricane season, beginning June 1, might play out differently. A storm might wipe out the highway as Katrina wrecked parts of the Gulf Coast last year, hindering access to Gulf of Mexico production platforms and cutting off a port where 11 percent of U.S. oil imports come ashore. Raising and widening a 17-mile (27-kilometer) stretch of Highway 1 would prevent an extended shutdown.