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title : Port of New Orleans Communications .... |
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Dear Industry Colleagues,
I want to pass along a message we've just received from Chris Bonura, Port of New Orleans Communications Manager, who is now apparently in Dallas. His comments first, then followed by the text of a press release he sent:
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Attached is an initial assessment of Port conditions surveyed Monday by SUV
and Tuesday by boat. Since the assessment was taken, a skeleton crew of Port
senior managers have escaped from the rising waters in New Orleans and are
now based at the Port of West St. Mary in Franklin, La.
Gary LaGrange, President and CEO of the Port of New Orleans, had this to say
in summarizing the situation at the Port:
"The outcome is not good, and it has been aggravated by unexpected flooding
conditions following the storm."
"Yesterday, I thought the damage could have been worse, but today, I'm not
so sure."
"It won't be overnight, but eventually we will bounce back bigger and better
than ever. Our first priority is to provide peace of mind to the citizens of
New Orleans and our employees who have lost so much."
******Please see attachment****** (shown below)
Initial Port Assessment Hurricane Katrina
We took a tour of accessible facilities via land yesterday, Monday, August 29th from approximately 3:30 pm to 7:00 pm and again this morning via water, Tuesday, August 30th, from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. Here is a brief assessment of the situation of the facilities we were able to visit. At this time, we are not in a position to advise the dollar amount to effect repairs. All cargoes in the transit sheds should be inspected at a later time to determine the exact damage and any damage to cargoes caused by water.
Henry Clay Wharf ?Heavy damage to roller doors and skylights. Wharf is dry, no flooding. Draft alongside ranged between 36 feet to 38 feet.
Nashville A Wharf ?Moderate damage to siding, on the end of the shed, and roller doors. The Fantuzzi mobile Harbor Crane with P & O, looks to be in "operational shape" but would need to be inspected. Draft alongside was better than 39 feet.
Nashville B Wharf ?Moderate damage to siding on shed and roller doors, sections of roof missing. Draft alongside between 39 feet to 48 feet.
Napoleon Container Terminal ?Numerous stacked containers were "pancaked" in the yard. Our guess is around 100 units and that most were empties. One container had fallen from the stack onto the train adjacent to the facility. A small number of containers on the ground were in approximately 2 feet of water, any cargoes inside would be effected. All 4 port gantry cranes were secured and intact. The two newer cranes though had lost the sides of the cabs where the computer hardware is located. This will advised when technicians can service the equipment. One of the cranes had a container next to the base of the crane. This had fallen from a stack of containers in the back reach of the crane. Also the Zim Ship had left the wharf during the storm and proceeded to anchor (both port and starboard) just off the wharf. Draft alongside was between 46 feet to 51 feet.
Napoleon C Wharf and Milan Street Wharf ?The roller doors experienced heavy damage. The draft alongside ranged from 35 feet to 38 feet.
Louisiana Street Wharf ?Roller doors appeared to be in good shape, but the new roof had lost sections. The draft alongside ranged from 40 feet to 45 feet.
Harmony Street Wharf ?The roof had lost sections. The draft alongside ranged from 36 to 38 feet.
7th Street Wharf ?Skylights were missing from the roof, and moderate to heavy damage to the roller doors. The draft ranged between 37 feet to 39 feet.
1st Street Wharf ?Heavy damage to the roof and roller doors. Adjacent to the Wharf the Jackson Street Ferry Landing had also experienced major damage. The draft ranged between 38 feet to 44 feet alongside.
Erato Street Wharf ?Wharf incurred heavy damage due to a Bollinger Drydock which was adrift from its mooring on the west bank. The drydock moved up the river, impacting the wharf, but missing the Crescent City Connection Bridge. The drydock then became lodged on the west bank across from the Robin Street Wharf.
Julia Street Cruise Terminal ?The roof had sections missing. All windows at the terminal appeared to be intact. The new passenger jet way appeared intact as well but will need to be inspected. The auxiliary jet way appeared intact with the canopy still attached. The draft alongside was between 31 feet to 36 feet.
Governor Nicholas Street Wharf ?The transit shed had moderate damage to the side panels and roller doors. Draft alongside was sufficient. We were not able to sound with the M/V General Kelly due to a bulk ship being there in a lay berth status.
Esplande Street Wharf - Heavy damage to the siding and the roof. We did not sound alongside due to the vessel in the lay berth.
Pauline Street Wharf ?We include the Pauline Street Wharf due to the vessel in the lay berth, the M/V Chios Beauty, lines parted setting it adrift. Vessel is now located on the west bank, having impacted with the Cooper Tug Barge and lodging itself against the barge and at least one tug. We observed two Cooper Tugs trying to dislodge the vessel from the west bank.
Poland Street Wharf ?Appeared intact with moderate damage, we did not sound in this area. The "nested" MARAD ships appeared intact.
Alabo Street Wharf ?Moderate damage to the skylights and doors. Draft alongside was OK. We did not sound due to a vessel at the berth.
France Road Wharf and Jourdan Street Wharf ?We were not able to access these facilities due to flooding in the area. We will advise the status in the near future. It should be noted that electricity has been lost and Jourdan Street Wharf, used to export frozen poultry, and is now without refrigeration.
Summary ?Our wharves appear to be, for the most part, intact and able to conduct cargo operations. The transit sheds incurred damage, but could be used while we make repairs. Issues concerning cargo operations would be procuring labor to work the vessels (a lot of the labor most likely incurred heavy damage to their homes or evacuated out of town), distribution of cargoes due to highway connectors being damaged (I-10 twin spans had sections lost and connectors in Orleans and Jefferson Parishes are under water) and initially used for recovery operations, and the ability of the river to receive vessels specifically at the southwest pass and the MRGO. Presently river traffic is limited to tugs, barges, off shore vessels relocating and recovery boats. We must wait now for sounding to be performed by the pilot's organizations and the Army Corp of Engineers. In addition, we need to analyze the Cruise Operation. Right now the Louis Armstrong Airport is underwater and hotels ! supporting the cruise industry need to repair their facilities. We still have autos for passengers parked which incurred heavy damage. We are investigating creating a satellite office within a distance of 50 miles. Discussions have taken place with AAPA (Kurt Nagle- President) and our old friend John Jamien with MARAD, who now works for Secretary of Transportation Norman Minetta for assistance for logistical supply, operations, and medical assistance. Our next step will be to refine our inspections of our facilities and begin the process to repair them. Also we need to meet with the USCG, Army Corp of Engineers, and Pilots Organizations to reopen the river. River traffic, for now, is limited to tugs, barges, offshore vessels, and recovery boats. Follow up with state and federal financial help is beginning and will be addressed shortly as our staff is able to report back. Recommendations from MARAD will be delivered to Secretary Minetta and brought up tomorrow at a cabine! t meeting with the president tomorrow. More to follow.
Gary
(La Grange)
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All of our thoughts and prayers are with you and everyone there, Gary, and everyone is looking for ways to be of assistance.
At this time, as advised by Kurt Nagle, President of the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA), we're telling everyone who asks how they can help that the focus right now is on search and rescue/evacuation efforts, and the quickest way to help is to provide assistance (financial contributions, blood donations, etc.) directly to the relief agencies involved in the area. A list of organizations accepting cash donations has been provided on the web site of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at http://www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=18473. FEMA is encouraging cash donations at this time and is asking volunteers not to self dispatch.
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