Houston Port Authority orders four dockside electric container cranes for Barbours Cut Container Terminal
Konecranes, the Finnish crane manufacture, will supply four dockside electric container cranes to Houston’s Barbours Cut Container Terminal as part of the facility’s redevelopment, the Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority has announced.
The US$700 million modernisation project will include the purchase of further container handling equipment, lights and dock improvements as the port looks to provide its customers with more efficient cargo handling and the necessary infrastructure to handle larger ocean carriers.
At a board meeting held on Tuesday, the Port Commission added that the four cranes will be put into operation at Barbours Cut Container Terminal’s Wharf No.1.
The Port Commission also has approved two Foreign Trade Zone matters, one for an expansion of FTZ 84, of which the Port Authority is the grantee, and one to create a new subzone. FTZ 84 is one of the largest zones in the US and according to the latest report to Congress, more value passes through it than any other FTZ in the country, exporting more than $5 billion worth of goods annually.
In addition, the Port Commission also approved the Port Authority’s fiscal year 2012 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). External auditors Grant Thornton, LLP gave an unqualified or “clean” audit opinion of Port Authority financial records.
Commission chairman Janiece Longoria also reported that she was “very pleased” with the news that the International Longshoremen’s Association and the US Maritime Alliance had agreed on a new, six-year contract.
“We couldn’t get the work done without their efforts,” she said.
“We are the envy of ports in the US because of our good relationship with labor.”
Meanwhile, in his monthly report, executive director Len Waterworth said that total tonnage at Port Authority facilities for the month of March had increased 6 percent due in large part to containers, which increased by 97,000 tons while year-to-date total tonnage of 8.7 million tons is up slightly by 2 percent.