Louisiana Ports Work Toward Recovery
Louisiana ports continued their recovery from Hurricane Ida, with the Port of New Orleans resuming operations and the Port of South Louisiana making headway on repairs.
Port Of South Louisiana
Paul Aucoin, executive director of the Port of South Louisiana, told New Orleans City Business that just about everything at the port sustained some type of damage but that it all appeared to be fixable. The Port of South Louisiana stretches 54 miles across the Mississippi River.
Although the port was still without power as of September 8, Aucoin said he hoped to be able to service a ship on September 10. About 20 feet of dock was removed, deemed as unsuitable to receive a vessel.
“The Port of South Louisiana sustained some damage during Hurricane Ida, and we are in the process of assessing the damage to each of our facilities,” a notice on the port’s website said. “It will be some time before the port is fully operational. However, Port of South Louisiana Executive Regional Airport is open and in operation at this time! We will do everything in our power to offer assistance to our port personnel, the maritime community, our industrial partners and the people of the River Region as we travel together on the road to recovery from Hurricane Ida.”
Port NOLA
The Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) resumed limited cargo and vessel operations, beginning with breakbulk vessel cargo, September 2, four days after Hurricane Ida made landfall.
New Orleans Public Belt Railroad (NOPB) operations have also resumed with modified hours. Container operations resumed at the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal September 7, according to news releases sent from the port. Ports America service also resumed, including Seacor’s container on barge service.
Port crews, terminal operators and tenants continued preparing facilities for the resumption of operations more broadly, and the port posted terminal operator schedules on its Port NOLA storm update webpage.
“The state of Louisiana and our entire maritime industry are resilient,” said Brandy D. Christian, President and CEO of Port NOLA and CEO of the NOPB. “In the wake of this powerful storm, we are thankful for our essential port workers, maritime partners, as well as the federal, state, and local partners who worked tirelessly to get the Port NOLA gateway up and running. Nationally, Port NOLA supports nearly 120,000 jobs and generates an economic impact of nearly $30 billion. Our focus has been to resume operations quickly and safely.”
The port’s terminals and industrial real estate properties sustained no major damage, due to their location within the $14 billion federal Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction System, the port reported. Its Louisiana International Terminal development is also located within those boundaries, and that property was not materially impacted by the storm.
