Louisiana Coastal Energy Ports At A Glance
Brief descriptions of Louisiana’s five Coastal Energy Ports, from East to West:
Port of Terrebonne
Located on the Houma Navigation Canal, which runs from just south of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway to the Gulf of Mexico, the Port of Terrebonne is a landlord port whose tenants are fabricators, shipbuilders and oil and gas service companies. The Houma Navigation Canal has a dredged depth of 15 feet, and the port covers about 680 acres. The Terrebonne Port Commission’s executive director is David Rabalais.
Port of Morgan City
The Port of Morgan City sits near the terminus of the Atchafalaya River, where the river and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway meet. The Gulf of Mexico is about 18 miles south of the port and is accessed by the Atchafalaya River Bar Channel. The Port of Morgan City is an oil and gas service port, and also sees shipbuilding and vessel repair work. With an innovative newly constructed dredge set to get underway this spring in the bar channel, the port is poised to see a revival of its import-export business in the near future, along with a boost to shipbuilding operations. The Port of Morgan City’s executive director is Mac Wade.
Port of Iberia
The Port of Iberia includes a 3,500-acre industrial site along with ship access via the port’s Commercial Canal. The canal lies about 9 miles north of Weeks Bay and the Gulf of Mexico and intersects the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. Created in 1938 by the Louisiana Legislature, the Port of Iberia is the state’s oldest shallow-draft port. The Commercial Canal is currently authorized to a depth of 14 to 15 feet, but port officials and the Corps of Engineers are studying the feasibility of going to 16 feet plus a 2-foot over-cut. Craig Romero is executive director of the Port of Iberia.
Port of West St. Mary
The Port of West St. Mary is located just south of Franklin, La., at Mile 133 (west of Harvey Canal) on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. Primarily an oil and gas service port, West St. Mary is a landlord port whose tenants are marine fabricators and oil and gas service companies. The port has 1,300 linear feet of bulkhead for handling general cargo, along with mobile cranes and fork loaders for cargo transfers. The port also has about 7 acres of paved storage and yard space. The Port of West St. Mary recently received a $1.3 million grant to build an industrial training facility on site. David Allain serves as the port’s executive director.
Port of Vermilion
The Port of Vermilion, part of the Abbeville Harbor & Terminal District, is located 8 miles north of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway along the Vermilion River. The port connects to the Gulf of Mexico via Freshwater Bayou. The Port of Vermilion covers about 105 acres and is a landlord port, with tenants focused primarily on the oil and gas industry. Jay Campbell serves as the port’s executive director.
