HOUSTON, May 27, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Port of Houston Authority (PHA) today announced that Executive Director H. Thomas Kornegay was unanimously elected and installed as President of the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) during the association's conference in Shanghai, China. Kornegay has been affiliated with the IAPH for 20 years and served the organization in a number of leadership capacities.
Photos accompanying this release are available at: http://media.primezone.com/poha/pages/business.html
"It is an honor to take the helm of the global maritime industry's leading organization," stated Kornegay. "I am looking forward to working collaboratively with the officers and staff of IAPH to develop and implement a bold agenda aimed at tackling enormous challenges and seizing vast opportunities that confront ports worldwide -- from economic viability and capital resource development to security and environmental stewardship."
Other 2005-2007 officers of IAPH include First Vice President Datin Paduka O.C. Phang, General Manager of Port Klang Authority, Malaysia; Second Vice President Gichiri Ndua, Kenya Ports Authority, Third Vice President Bernard S. Groseclose, Jr., President and CEO of the South Carolina State Port Authority; and Immediate Past President Pieter Struijs, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operational Officer of Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands. Dr. Satoshi Inoue is the IAPH's Secretary General.
Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, the IAPH comprises representatives of approximately 351 ports and top executives from major industry corporations in 87 countries around the world. The members' ports as a whole handle 85 percent of the world's container traffic and more than 60 percent of the global seaborne trade.
During the IAPH's 2003 conference in Durban, South Africa, Kornegay and other PHA officials made a formal presentation to affirm Houston's bid to host the IAPH's 2007 conference, which is expected to be attended by more than 1,000 delegates. The Hilton Americas Hotel has been selected as the host hotel and Continental Airlines has been selected as the official airline of the conference. The conference is expected to have a $3.5 million impact to the Houston economy.
PHA Chairman Jim Edmonds stated, "The IAPH's 2007 conference will advance Houston's stature as a world class destination. In addition, I am confident that Tom Kornegay's extensive experience will greatly enhance the direction of IAPH's strategic leadership."
PHA Public Affairs Director Argentina M. James was elected to serve as vice president of the 2007 conference in Houston. "The highlight of the conference will be to provide the conference delegates a technical tour of the Port Authority's highly anticipated Bayport Container and Cruise Terminal. Activities include a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Cruise Terminal schedule to open during the conference capsule. There will also be a capsule burial ceremony for the Bayport Container Terminal that will have opened in 2006 as was done at IAPH conference held in Houston in 1977 for the PHA Barbours Cut Container Terminal," said James.
The PHA is also being represented at the IAPH's Shanghai conference by Vice Chairman Kase Lawal, Commissioner Jimmy Burke, Commissioner Jim Fonteno and Commissioner Cheryl Thompson-Draper.
PHOTO CAPTIONS: 01) IAPH Secretary General Dr. Satoshi Inoue (left) shakes hands with IAPH President Tom Kornegay.
02) (l. to r.) PHA Chairman Jim Edmonds, PHA Commissioner Cheryl Thompson-Draper, John Draper, and IAPH President Tom Kornegay.
03) IAPH President Tom Kornegay discusses plans for the association's 2007 conference in Houston.
About the Port of Houston Authority
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 PHA 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
About the International Association of Ports and Harbors
The International Association of Ports and Harbors was founded in 1955 in Los Angeles as a non-profit Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) headquartered in Tokyo in Japan. IAPH's motto is "world peace through world trade, world trade through world ports." The association is often referred to as the World Port Association (WPA) in which active leaders in the global port community, namely port CEOs, port directors and port managers are represented to promote and advance the common interests of their community. The IAPH has 351 ports and maritime related companies representing 87 different maritime countries and economies. Ports affiliated to the IAPH handle some 60% of the world's seaborne trade (more than 6 billion tons) and more than 85% of the world's container traffic. The IAPH has been granted consultative status as non governmental organization by the five inter-governmental bodies ECOSOC, IMO, UNCTAD, UNEP, and WCO, whose decisions directly or indirectly affect the world port community. The IAPH actively participates in the discussions and programs through its appointed liaison officers and in concerted actions to be carried out by the IAPH technical committees and group experts.
The Port of Houston Authority logo can be found at: http://media.primezone.com/prs/single/?pkgid=720
