The United States Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi, alongside the Port of Brownsville and other federal, state and local agencies, conducted an Area Maritime Security Training and Exercise Program (AMSTEP) table-top exercise in Brownsville on July 12.

This exercise, held at Keppel AmFELS facilities, brought together over 20 federal, state, and local law enforcement and emergency management partner agencies in addition to regulated oil, natural gas, and chemical facilities to test the South Texas Area Maritime Security Plan and assess the response to security incidents.

“This exercise is very important because it brings all of us together at the local, state, and federal levels to talk about processes and procedures on how to elevate maritime security levels,” said Captain Tony Hahn, Sector Commander of Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi.

“We had incredible participation fr

The Texas Shrimp Association kicked off this year’s Gulf shrimp season with the traditional Blessing of the Fleet on July 10, at the Port of Brownsville Fishing Harbor. The commercial Gulf shrimp season officially began on July 15.

Father Mark Watters delivered a powerful sermon and asked the dozens of people gathered at the ceremony to pray for a bountiful harvest this season and for the well-being of all shrimpers while they are out at sea. Among those present at the event were State Rep. Rene Oliveira, D-Brownsville, port officials, local shrimpers and representatives from the Texas Department of Agriculture.

This year’s blessing comes at a challenging time for Rio Grande Valley shrimpers who are facing a shortage of workers to go on the boats and help harvest shrimp due to the lack of H-2B worker visas issued by the federal government. There are approximately 180 shrimp boa

The United States Coast Guard Station South Padre Island hosted a Change of Command ceremony June 28. Lt. Cmdr. Michael Bell released command of the station to Lt. Kurtis Mees.

The ceremony included remarks from Captain Tony Hahn, Commander of the USCG Sector Corpus Christi, who oversees operations for all maritime ports from Port Lavaca to Port of Brownsville.

Lt. Mees is a native of Forsyth, MT, and enlisted in the USCG in 1998. Before being assigned to South Texas, Lt. Mess reported to the Fifth District Command Center in Portsmouth, VA, where he coordinated maritime response operations and later held programmatic oversight of all search and rescue stations and small boats within District AOR.

Lt. Cmdr. Bell assumed his duties as the commanding officer of Station South Padre Island in June 2014.

The Change of Com­mand ceremony is a time-honored na­val tradition. It is a

BY FRANK GARZA/The Brownsville Herald

Article published June 12, 2017

BROWNSVILLE – The Port of Brownsville received welcome news after the 85th legislative session. It could potentially get assistance from a newly established state fund.

With the passage of CSHB 4021, ports across Texas will have access to a ship channel improvement revolving fund.

“It’s an opportunity for capital funding that could be very important in the future,” said Eduardo A. Campirano, director of the Port of Brownsville. “From that perspective, it’s good because there isn’t any program already at the state level to address port infrastructure.”

The legislation gives the port a second source of funding for its dredging project. In December, former president Barack Obama signed the Water Resources and Development Act of 2016, qualifying the port’s plan to

BY GRACE LAVIGNE / American Metal Market

Article published June 6, 2017

NEW YORK — The Texas port of Brownsville’s steel volumes are expected to remain stable despite anti-dumping duties and changing trade strategies, thanks to its unique position as a transshipment point for goods moving to Mexico, according to a port spokesman.

“The port has had a good run of growth in recent years,” Steve Tyndal, the port’s senior director of marketing and business development, told AMM.

In 2016, Brownsville handled 9.3 million tons of cargo including bulk, breakbulk and project cargoes, according to preliminary figures, down from a record 10.1 million tons in 2015, he said. That drop was related to one customer in particular, Tyndal noted, but last year’s figures are still up by more than one-third from 5.6 million tons in 2010.

Nearly one-quarte

BROWNSVILLE – The USS Independence completed its final voyage of 16,000 miles after arriving at the Port of Brownsville Thursday, June 1, 2017. However, the decommissioned aircraft carrier’s service is far from over as some of its steel will be used in the construction of new Navy vessels.

“We recognize that this is a sentimental time for many. Some may view this as an ending, for others it’s a new beginning,” said John Wood, Brownsville Navigation District chairman, at a special ceremony held by International Shipbreaking Ltd. at Isla Blanca Park at South Padre Island. “In her new role, the USS Independence will provide a hopeful future for hundreds of local men and women. Through the jobs created through her repurposing, she will live on, and continue to serve.”

ISL won the Navy bid to recycle the 60,000-ton vessel, the last of the Forrestal-class of “supercarriers

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – Honolulu-based Pasha Hawaii selected Keppel AmFELS for the construction of two new LNG fueled containerships, with an option to order two additional vessels.

Delivery of the first vessel is expected in the first quarter of 2020, while the second vessel will be delivered in the third quarter of the same year. Pasha Hawaii is in the process of finalizing contract specifications.

“Keppel’s technical expertise in LNG propulsion and commitment to customer service were two very important factors in our selection decision,” said George Pasha, IV, president and CEO of Pasha Hawaii, a global logistics and transportation company.

The new vessels will operate fully on LNG from day one in service, dramatically reducing environmental impact and increasing fuel efficiency. Energy savings will also be achieved with a state-of-the-art engine, an optimized hull form,

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – The Port of Brownsville played an important logistical role in Acciona Energy’s continued expansion in the US.

The company, a global operator in renewable energies, inaugurated the San Roman Wind Farm in Los Fresnos in April and utilized the port to deliver and store 42 complete windmill towers, consisting of 378 components destined for the project.

The Port of Brownsville received the first windmill components from Acciona in May 2016 and for the following six months vessels loaded with wind towers, nacelles, blades and cones arrived regularly at the port. The windmill components were then transported by truck to the San Roman site. Gulf Stream Marine was the stevedore hired for the project.

The 93-megawatt wind farm is Acciona’s first in Texas and eighth in the United States. It has the capacity to power more than 30,000 homes in Southeast Texas.

BY STEVE CLARK/ The Brownsville Herald

Article published May 3, 2017

BROWNSVILLE – The Port of Brownsville is closer than it’s ever been to finally landing a steel mill, something it’s been pursuing for decades. Brownsville is one of two finalists for a $1.5 billion, advanced flex steel mill identical to Big River Steel’s new plant in Osceola, Ark., the world’s first LEED-certified facility of its kind.

LEED stands for “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.” According to the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED is the world’s most widely used green-building rating system. Big River is expected to decide within a few months whether to build a new mill in Brownsville or expand its Arkansas operation.

The new project has been dubbed “Project America.” Port officials say it would directly support 500 new full-time jobs wit

BY STEVE CLARK/The Brownsville Herald

Article published May 3, 2017

BROWNSVILLE – More than two years after shutting down operations, the former Esco Marine Inc. ship recycling yard will restart operations under new ownership and a new name: SteelCoast.

The new company is a joint venture of Hilco Redevelopments Partners, a unit of Hilco Global, and MCM Marine Services, an affiliate of MCM Management Corp.

Gary Epstein, Hilco Global’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer, said the purchase of assets from the previous owner was completed Monday evening and that operations would restart immediately. Kris Wood, Esco’s former vice president of administration, was tapped as SteelCoast CEO.

Esco ceased operations in February 2015, putting 300 employees out of work, and filed for bankruptcy the following month. The decommissioned

Texas LNG contracted Samsung Engineering and KBR, Inc. to design and build its LNG export facility proposed at the Port of Brownsville.

Samsung Engineering and KBR will provide Texas LNG with pre-final investment decision (pre-FID) detailed engineering and post-final investment decision (post-FID) engineering, procurement and construction services for its proposed 4 million tons per year LNG export facility.

Samsung Engineering has already completed the conceptual study, pre-front end engineering design (Pre-FEED) and FEED for the project.

The Pre-FID detailed engineering, expected to begin this year, will include further design and schedule optimization, identification of long lead items and early works commitments, early preparation of purchase orders, and all due diligence in relation to technical commercial and contractual matters that will enable Samsung Engineering and KBR

A bill creating a fund supporting future improvements to ship channels in Texas is heading to the full Senate for consideration.

Senate Bill 28, filed by Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, and co-authored by senators Juan “Chuy” Hijonosa, D-McAllen, and Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, received unanimous approval from the Senate Transportation Committee in March and is now awaiting approval from the Senate and House chambers.

The bill proposes the creation of a ship channel improvement revolving fund, controlled by the Texas Department of Transportation, which would help navigation districts finance qualified projects like channel widening or deepening. According to the bill, only projects authorized under the Water Resources and Development Act (WRDA) would be considered for funding.

In December 2016, the Port of Brownsville received full congressional authorization to pursue fede