HOUSTON, Sept. 1, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Vessel traffic is NOT being diverted to Houston from the Alabama State Port Authority's facilities in Mobile. According to officials at the Alabama State Port Authority, the Mobile facilities sustained minimal damage from Hurricane Katrina. Rising water deposited silt and debris in the general cargo areas causing some cargo damage. General cargoes are being delivered to customers, but new cargoes will not be received until after the conclusion of clean up operations. The clean up is expected to take a few days.
The Alabama State Port Authority also reports that its bulk terminals did not sustain any damage and are now open for operations. Officials also say that pending the completion of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers survey work of Mobile Ship and the Theodore Ship Channels, the Alabama State Port Authority expects to be open to vessel traffic as early as Friday or Saturday at the latest.
The Port of Houston Authority still expects some cargoes originally destined for New Orleans, Gulfport, and Pascagoula to be redirected to Houston and other U.S. ports. It is still hard to predict how much and/or for how long. It is not known how long the damaged port facilities along the Gulf Coast will be shut down.
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 Port Authority 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