|
Katrina’s effect on Charleston less than expected
By Shelia Watson
Contributing Writer
At a recent meeting of the Charleston Harbor Society, Ron Brinson, former CEO and president of the Port of New Orleans, related his experience of watching from New Orleans as his former hometown of Charleston bore the brunt of Hurricane Hugo 16 years ago.
It was déjà vu a few weeks ago as Brinson watched Hurricane Katrina bear down on the area he had called home until moving back to Charleston three years ago.
“New Orleans actually ended up on the west side, which is better, but the levees, which were designed to protect against a Category 5, three of them failed.”
Brinson, who also had worked at the Port of Charleston years ago, finds much to compare between the two. “The lower Mississippi River is the busiest waterway in the world. New Orleans is the No. 1 coffee port in the world, and it’s also the busiest steel port. It’s very much like Charleston being a huge container port and dominating the container industry.”
In terms of any effect on Charleston, Hurricane Katrina’s devastation at the Port of New Orleans isn’t expected to have a major impact on the maritime shipment of goods, although rail operations to and from New Orleans are expected to experience a temporary slowdown.
“We have had some cargo diversions,” said Byron Miller, S.C. State Ports Authority spokesman. “Several ocean carriers have suggested Charleston as an alternative, especially in the Latin American and North Europe business. The real issue here is we already have a lot of customers in that area. A lot of business goes from here to New Orleans. It’s one of our top rail markets.”
Miller said approximately 25% of business leaving the Port of Charleston goes by rail, and of that amount, 15% goes to New Orleans.
“The hurricane created some significant challenges, but only over the short term, for those who are already using Charleston.”
Impact on Charleston is minimized further because New Orleans is a major port for bulk commodities but not retail container shipments, which is Charleston’s primary vessel load.
New Orleans’s rail system has six trunk lines originating and terminating in the city. Brinson predicts it will be a while before the lines are back to full capacity.
“The biggest problem is getting the port workers back in place, but there are agencies working together to be sure the labor is available and ready.”
Brinson’s experience at the port reassures him about New Orleans’ recovery, he said.
“The New Orleans Ports Authority will do a great job in getting the assets back up to par. They assembled key staff people in other cities and set up a command center in Atlanta. They had backups of the hard drives.”
The biggest challenge, he said, is with location and management of the people.
“There is a repopulation plan. And the recovery and restoration will be an interesting process to watch. But I’m willing to bet that in five years time, New Orleans will be back better than ever.”
Brinson pointed out that at the Port of New Orleans, as with the Port of Charleston, the agencies are always preparing for the worst. Before the hurricane hit, New Orleans import specialists were reassigned to several locations, including Atlanta, Savannah, Charlotte, Norfolk and Charleston.
Within a week of the hurricane, New Orleans began handling cargo again. Initial assessments determined one container crane had been found inoperable.
“The river part of the port is in relatively good shape,” Brinson said. “The river levees (where many of the port terminals are located) held up very well. New Orleans is going to bounce back to life.”
|
E-Mail This Article
Printer-Friendly Version