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The month of August marked an impressive milestone in the Brownsville & Rio Grande International Railway’s (BRG) 34-year history, with a record 5,045 loaded railcars handled at the Port of Brownsville.

The short-line railroad, managed and operated by OmniTRAX, has experienced a record-breaking number of car volumes for 2020 and according to Norma Torres, BRG president & COO, if the trend continues, BRG will see a 15% increase from the 41,207 loaded cars moved in 2019.

Like other companies, BRG has faced unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the company has persevered as carload volumes continue to increase thanks to an uptick in activity by port tenants.

“The growth at the Port of Brownsville has directly impacted our carloads which continue

Keppel AmFELS announced in September its contract to build the largest high-specification Trailing Suction Hopper Dredge (TSHD) in the U.S. for Manson Construction Co.

This will be the first dredge built at Keppel AmFELS’ yard at the Port of Brownsville, adding to the growing number of shipbuilding projects and job opportunities in the South Texas region.

“We are pleased to be selected by Manson Construction Co. to build the largest U.S hopper dredge. It is a testament to the capabilities of our shipyard to build a wide variety of vessels for the Jones Act market,” said Mohamed Sahlan Bin Salleh, president of Keppel AmFELS. “This project will be supported by our highly-skilled local workforce and suppliers across the U.S. This is our first newbuild project with Manson and we look forward to supporting them as they grow their fleet of vessels.”

Once complete, the self-p

By John Reed, Chairman of the Brownsville Navigation District

The Port of Brownsville is proud to support the U.S. trucking industry by celebrating National Truck Driver Appreciation Week (Sept. 13-19). While we always owe our nation’s truckers a debt of gratitude, it feels especially poignant right now as they continue to bravely and relentlessly carry out their responsibilities to keep our world and our economies moving forward amid a global pandemic.

At the port, everything we do revolves around helping businesses provide seamless logistics and transportation of products and supplies on both sides of the border. Cargo moving to and from the port gets there by water, rail or road. It’s a relationship dependent upon well-coordinated cooperation between each mode of transportation, with truck drivers playing a vital role in our success.

A port community with all these exceptional benefits and active projects requires skilled and abundant labor. Local universities, colleges, technical schools, school districts and workforce development leaders are partnering with the port to meet growing demands. Fortunately, Brownsville is home to one of the nation’s most youthful populations, where the average age is 29. Educated, technically savvy, adaptable and motivated to succeed, these young people understand the meaning of hard work.

Many of those work for the port’s three skilled stevedoring operations, who collaborated on the movement of 11.3 million short tons of cargo last year: Dix Shipping Company, Schaefer Stevedoring and Gulf Stream Marine are the backbone and muscle of the port that works. Each has distinguished themselves with records of safety and efficiency, serving the focused needs of their clients, resulting

Community-wide survey kicks off campaign to help identify connectivity needs

August 26, 2020 (Brownsville, TX) –The City of Brownsville, in partnership with seven strategic local stakeholders including the Port of Brownsville, Brownsville Public Utilities Board, Texas Southmost College, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Greater Brownsville Incentives Cooperation, Brownsville Community Improvement Corporation and the Brownsville Independent School District announces a new campaign to help bring faster internet and better internet access to online Brownsville citizens.  

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This notice concerns the 2020 property tax rates for the Brownsville Navigation District. This notice provides information about two tax rates used in adopting the current tax year’s tax rate. The no-new-revenue tax rate would Impose the same amount of taxes as last year if you compare properties taxed in both years. In most cases, the voter-approval tax rate is the highest tax rate a taxing unit can adopt without holding an election. In each case, these rates are calculated by dividing the total amount of taxes by the current taxable value with adjustments as required by state law. The rates are given per $100 of property value.

• 2020 BND NOTICE OF TAX RATES

The Port of Brownsville’s proximity to Mexico, Latin America’s second-largest economy, uniquely positions the port as the nation’s key transshipment gateway delivering goods and commodities to nearby multinational manufacturing centers on both sides of the border.

Ranking among the top U.S. steel ports, the Port of Brownsville moves more steel into Mexico than any other domestic competitor. In 2019, the port moved 3.2 million short tons of steel across the southern border.

Nearby Monterrey is a major industrial center in northern Mexico with a metropolitan population of nearly five million and home to dozens of commonly recognized international corporations. Monterrey is located 200 miles due west from the Port of Brownsville, where steel makers have come to rely upon the logistical efficiencies provided

Editor’s Note: This article is featured in the new edition of the Port of Brownsville Directory.

With operating revenue records in five of the last six years, it’s now more likely and achievable for the Port of Brownsville to make significantly large infrastructure investments – even during trying fiscal decelerations.

Growing the port has never been more important. Doing it with thoughtful and strategic planning is a deliberate path forward set by the Brownsville Navigation District Commission to protect the interests of port tenants and users, constituents and port assets. To grow requires reliable and recurring revenue. It takes money and planning.

In FY 2019, the port set

By John Reed/Brownsville Navigation District Chairman

This Memorial Day, as we rightfully honor the military men and women who gave their lives winning and protecting our freedoms, let us not forget an often-overlooked remembrance for the thousands of U.S. merchant mariners who also died serving our country in their own selfless ways.

In 1933, by a joint Resolution of Congress and by Proclamation of the President of the United States, May 22 was set aside as National Maritime Day to honor the sacrifices of U.S. merchant mariners during wartime and in peace. Since the founding of our country, thousands of men and women aboard American-flagged merchant ships have supplied the needs of our troops around the world, often becoming a tragic casualty of war themselves. During World War I and II, more than 8,600 merchant mariners perished – the highest rate of c