Welcome Aboard (october 2008)

Agreements spell growth for port and city

Director’s note

Key plank of capital improvement program begins Ike couldn’t dim The Port of Beaumont’s $52 million expansion program received a major boost in July with two agreements that will complement the port’s projected growth and help city leaders with their push to redevelop downtown Beaumont. Marking the end of a 15-year effort, the port signed agreements with three major railroad companies and the Texas Department of Transportation to begin transplanting a set of five railroad tracks between Beaumont City Hall and the Neches River to extend an existing rail yard within the port. Representatives of the three railroads— Burlington Northern & Santa Fe (BNSF), Kansas City Southern Railway and Union Pacific—joined port officials and local, state and federal elected officials and their representatives for a signing ceremony at the port on July 28. The $16 million tab for the changes will be covered by a mix of funding including $7 million from the Federal Highway Administration’s Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) funds, $5.1 million secured through the 2005 federal transportation bill by U.S. Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas). The port will contribute $4.8 million of its own funds to cover design and construction costs. The project will greatly enhance the port’s rail infrastructure, providing more than 350 additional railcar spares and tripling the port’s loading and unloading tracks. The changes will allow the port to better service its customers and provide new cargo growth opportunities.

Though one track will remain, removing the other tracks will free up about eight acres along the river. The city will then press forward with plans to develop a riverfront commercial district as part of ongoing restoration and revitalization efforts in downtown Beaumont.

ABOVE: A BNSF train lugs a load of windmill nacelles through the riverfront rail yard between Beaumont City Hall and the Neches River. BELOW: The city plans to develop a riverfront recreation district in the rail yard’s place. The project will stretch the length of downtown and include a canal and small inlet seen in the artist’s rendering below (Image courtesy City of Beaumont)

Southeast Texas’ spirit to press on Southeast Texas may have been bruised and battered by Hurricane Ike’s hard swipe more than a month ago but the Fisher area today is very much still in business. In the same manner as after hurricanes Rita and Humberto, neighbors helped neighbors as soon as winds abated to jumpstart recovery. Piles of splintered trees and debris from homes and businesses continue to vanish as time passes. Essential services were restored throughout the region far sooner than initially expected. Despite the hard work and quick progress, Southeast Texas still has quite a road to tread before things get closer to pre-Ike normal. Our thoughts and prayers are with those still struggling to recover in the hardest-hit areas of Chambers, Jefferson and Orange counties and the entire stretch of the Gulf Coast punished by Ike last month. The Port of Beaumont fared well during the storm with only minimal damage and minor power and water interruptions. Those issues were corrected in days and the port lent its facilities to massive rescue, relief and recovery efforts launched during the storm’s aftermath. Essential staff weathered the storm at the port and others returned to work very soon after to get port operations running again quickly and efficiently. Longshoremen, many of whom suffered extensive water damage to their homes, came to work just four days after the storm to unload cargo from one of the first ships to arrive in Southeast Texas after Ike. Those are just two examples of the “can-do” spirit in every Southeast Texan.

David C. Fisher Director, Port of Beaumont

IN THIS ISSUE: Pictured above at the signing ceremony are (seated, l. to r.) Port commissioner Nell Clark, board vice president Henry Nix and board president Pete Shelton. (Standing, l. to, r.) BNSF Railroad representative Larry Baker, Gil Wilson and Beaumont district engineer Howard Holland with the Texas Department of Transportation, Beaumont city councilman W.L. Pate, Jefferson County commissioner Eddie Arnold, Texas state senator Tommy Williams, Beaumont Mayor Becky Ames, Jefferson County Judge Ron Walker, port commissioner Lee Smith, Jefferson County commissioner Bo Alfred, port commissioner Louis Broussard, Jr., Union Pacific Railroad representative Owen Durkin, port board secretary-treasurer Georgine Guillory, Ron Bird with Kansas City Southern Railway, port director Chris Fisher and Brandon Steenson of Kansas City Southern. Port of Beaumont Navigation District of Jefferson County, Texas ● 1225 Main Street ● Beaumont, Texas 77701 ● ● (409) 835-5367 ● (409) 835-0512 FAX ●

Online at www.portofbeaumont.com

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Ike strikes, Gustav misses and Edouard bluffs

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Port hosts official visitors Coast Guard gets ready How to stack a vessel on a vessel

The boys of

SUMMER Active hurricane season keeps port on its toes with Edouard, Gustav and Ike

REFUGE: Scores of tugboats and shrimp boats shelter in place as waves ahead of Hurricane Ike push flotsam and foam onto the port’s RO/RO ramp in September. Ike sideswiped Beaumont as the area’s third tropical cyclone threat of the 2008 hurricane season.

Port escapes Ike’s wrath virtually unscathed; lends a hand to get region back on track

Shrimp boats make their way up the Sabine-Neches Waterway toward the Port of Beaumont’s docks. More than 150 vessels sought safe haven from Hurricane Ike at the port.

Lights on vessels docked at the port were the only signs of electricity the morning after Ike blew through. Power was restored to the entire port in less than five days.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff (foreground, left) speaks with aides as U.S. Senator John Cornyn (in green jacket) discusses his flight over devastated areas of Southeast Texas with port director Chris Fisher.

This view from the Harbor Island Marine Terminal shows Hurricane Ike at full fury on the morning of Sept. 13. Sustained winds at the port topped 70 mph, with a gust to 122 mph.

Fatigued, but ready. No phrase more aptly describes the mood of Southeast Texas in early September as Hurricane Ike scraped across Cuba, slid into the Gulf of Mexico and became the fourth threat from a tropical cyclone since Hurricane Rita awakened the region’s storm consciousness in 2005. Preparations began in earnest as the mammoth storm entered the Gulf of Mexico on Sept. 8 and forecasts placed Ike somewhere along the Texas coast by week’s end. For the third time this hurricane season, maintenance employees removed loose objects that could cause additional damage in hurricane-force winds and braced transit shed doors. As the week progressed, the port became a hive of activity. The U.S. Coast Guard, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and other state and federal agencies began sheltering their boats in the Carroll Street transit sheds. Local authorities moved ambulances, police cars and other emergency vehicles onto the M/V Cape Vincent to ride out the storm. Shrimp boats, tugboats and crew boats from coastal waters across Texas and Louisiana began drifting up the Sabine-Neches Waterway and tying up to any available dock space. Mandatory evacuation orders for residents of Jefferson and Orange counties went into effect at 6 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 11. By the time Ike’s first rain bands struck during the evening of Friday, Sept. 12, more than 150 vessels had sought refuge at the port, and countless Coast Guard, military and local essential personnel were hunkered down aboard the Cape Vincent. The brunt of Ike’s punishing blows on Southeast Texas arrived shortly before midnight. Hurricane-force

IKE FACTS & FIGURES LANDFALL 2:10 a.m. Sept. 13 on the eastern tip of Galveston Island (about 70 miles southwest of Beaumont) as a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 110 mph SUSTAINED WINDS (GUSTS) Southeast Texas Regional Airport: 70 mph (95 mph) M/V Cape Vincent (berthed at port): 70-90 mph (122 mph) RAINFALL Southeast Texas Regional Airport: 5.5 inches Downtown Beaumont: 10.5 inches STORM SURGES Sabine Pass: 14.7 ft Neches River at Beaumont: 11.2 ft SOURCES: National Weather Service, Beaumont Enterprise, USGS

winds battered the region through dawn Sept. 13, and tropical stormforce winds and torrential rains affected the area through early afternoon. Initial assessments revealed only minor damage to port facilities with typical post-storm inconveniences such as loss of power and water services, which affected large portions of the region during the initial days and weeks of the storm’s aftermath. Maintenance employees returned to straighten up the port on Monday, Sept. 15. Other employees trickled in during the week. Construction resumed on the port’s new dock facility. Rail and truck service resumed two days later. The longshoremen—many of whom live in the hardest-hit areas of Southeast Texas—positioned themselves to unload the M/V BBC Delaware, a wind energy cargo ship that was the first to enter the Sabine-Neches Waterway once it reopened on Sept. 17. Within ten days of the storm, cargo operations resumed with four ships with power and water were restored to the entire port.

Despite damages to their homes, longshoremen get port running again in only days

Longshoremen returned to work Sept. 18 to unload wind energy cargo from the M/V BBC Delaware at the Harbor Island Marine Terminal. The longshoremen were working just five days after the storm even though many of their homes sustained water and wind damage.

Taking a lunch break from working the M/V BBC Delaware, longshoremen eat burgers and fries purchased for them by the port and Irby Banquer of Chaparral Stevedoring. The port provided lunch for two days in appreciation for the men’s quick turnaround and hard work.

Longshoremen remove stacks of wood pulp from the M/V Star Ikebana at the Harbor Island Marine Terminal on Sept. 22, nine days after Hurricane Ike’s landfall. The Ikebana was one of three ships unloading cargo at the port that day.

Gantry cranes aboard the M/V Federal Patriot lower a windmill blade onto the Harbor Island Marine Terminal docks on Sept. 22. The M/V F. Spirit unloaded bulk grain downriver at the port’s grain elevator the same day.

As cargo operations resumed, authorities based portions of the relief effort at the port The Port of Beaumont coordinated with sev- • The port served as a secure landing zone government provided security. eral government agencies before, during and for U.S. Department of Homeland Security • The U.S. Coast Guard, Texas Parks and after Ike: Secretary Michael Chertoff and U.S. SenaWildlife and other state and federal agen• A National Guard Unit staged at the new tor John Cornyn during their visit to the cies sheltered boats in the port’s transit area. sheds. military office building for several days. • The Cape Vincent sheltered emergency • A staging area for trucks carrying supplies • Jefferson County essential personnel vehicles and the Cape Victory provided brought in by the State of Texas was set staged buses for jail evacuations and other meals for first responders. up on a vacant storage lot. The federal emergency vehicles at the port.

A National Guardsman walks among vehicles staged in Lot 10 near the new military office building on Sept. 14. The National Guard arrived at the port during the night after the storm to prepare for relief and rescue operations across Southeast Texas.

Trucks carrying supplies for regional recovery efforts sit in one of the Port of Beaumont’s Carroll Street storage lots on Sept. 19. The state of Texas brought in the supplies and U.S. Forest Service officers provided round-the-clock security.

THE AMERICAN, Texan and Port of Beaumont flags in front of the port administration building were the only objects that took a beating from Tropical Storm Edouard in August. Here, the flags ripple in stiff breezes from one of Edouard’s rain bands as clouds scud past the Jefferson County Courthouse across the street.

Tropical cyclones heading for port are no match for years of practice and preparation

(ABOVE) Port maintenance foreman Craig Blanchard carries a loose barrel from the Main Street wharves to his truck; (BELOW) Military containers were arranged as wind blocks at the Harbor Island Marine Terminal; (BOTTOM, RIGHT) Sabine Pilots and Moran Towing tugs take shelter during Edouard’s passage; (RIGHT) Edouard’s winds whip the Sabine-Neches Waterway’s surface into a brackish froth.

Though the storm was more than a day away from landfall and not very organized, Port of Beaumont maintenance sprang into action once Tropical Storm Edouard was christened off the Louisiana coast. Beginning at dawn on Monday, Aug. 4, maintenance workers picked up loose objects, moved portable buildings into the transit sheds, checked fuel supplies, made sure generators and vehicles were in working order and positioned containers and rail cars as wind blocks. This drill was nothing new. The port was bracing for its third hit from a tropical system in as many years. “We’re well schooled in it (preparation),” said port maintenance superintendent Sam Serio, who has worked at the port for more than 28 years. “Back in the 1980s, when we were getting a hurricane threat every month, we naturally knew what

to do.” The port follows strict preparation procedures for any tropical threat regardless of its size or strength. As Hurricane Rita in 2005 and Hurricane Humberto in 2007 both demonstrated, the Gulf of Mexico is a ripe environment for quickly strengthening storms that strike with surprisingly brutal effects. Edouard cruised ashore at Sabine Pass before dawn on Aug. 5, halting shipping traffic for one day and buffeting Southeast Texas with 40– to 60 mph wind gusts and drenching rains for several hours before dissipating over Central Texas. No damages were reported at the port, and only minor damages and scattered power outages occurred across the region. Hurricane Gustav posed another threat one month later but aimed its fury at the central Louisiana coast.

OTHER BEAUMONT STORMS 2007: Hurricane Humberto, 90 mph winds (Category 1) 2005: Hurricane Rita, 120 mph winds (Category 3) 2004: Tropical Storm Ivan, 40 mph winds 1986: Hurricane Bonnie, 90 mph winds (Category 1) Source: NOAA

Joking around “The Office” Fisher gets star birthday treatment inspired by one of his favorite television shows, “The Office”

SISTER ACT The M/V Cape Vincent returned to the Port of Beaumont in August after completing a months-long mission overseas. In the photos, the Mary Moran and her sister tug, the Helen Moran, guide the M/V Cape Vincent back to her layberth next to her sister ship, the M/V Cape Victory, between the Harbor Island Marine Terminal and the Main Street Wharves.

Accounts payable clerk Danielle Richard (right) hands port director Chris Fisher a platter containing his stapler gelled into a Jell-O mold. A close-up of the stapler in its lemon-pineapple casing (right).

Lighthearted pranks are a tradition at the port, but getting the guy at the top requires great planning and flawless execution. Since Chris Fisher loves the NBC comedy The Office, what better prank to pull than those character Jim Halpert pulls on coworker Dwight Schrute? The idea was the brainchild of port computer operator Misty Schexnayder, who enlisted the

help of accounts payable clerk Danielle Richard and human resources manager Janet Floyd. Floyd hid Fisher’s stapler and gave a similar one to Richard. It took a while to figure out how to keep the stapler afloat in the Jell-O mixture and remove the entire mold from the bowl the next morning intact, but the look on Fisher’s face the next day made it all worthwhile, Richard said.

STATE VISIT Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples visited the Port of Beaumont during a swing through Southeast Texas for Texas Rice Day in June. Staples received a briefing on the port’s capital improvements and a tour of the facility and discussed his recent trade mission to Cuba. Staples was elected agriculture commissioner in 2006 after several terms in the state senate. LEFT: Staples (second from left) stands with port board president Pete Shelton, commissioner Lee Smith and director Chris Fisher.

AIR BOAT Longshoremen stack and stow a vessel atop a vessel for a long journey overseas During a July stop to load military cargo at the Port of Beaumont, the El Faro took on an unconventional item—a speedboat the United States sold to the government of Oman. Since a speedboat wouldn’t be the best method of navigating the seas between Beaumont and Muscat, the boat had to be lifted and secured atop the El Faro’s stern for the ride. 1) Longshoremen position straps hanging from a gantry crane as the crane operator guides them toward the water. 2) With the straps lowered into the water, the M/V Blanche Marie nudges the boat into position. 3) The crane slowly lifts the boat out of the water as longshoremen steady it with ropes. 4) and 5) The crane gently swings the boat over the dock to lower it on a makeshift stand. 6) and 7) With the boat lifted into place on deck, longshoremen remove the straps and fasten the boat and stand to the El Faro.

By David Ball The Port Arthur News BEAUMONT — What would happen if terrorists were to attack one of our Southeast Texas ports? Or if they attacked one of our refineries? Pipeline? A tank farm? Emergency responders do not have the luxury of dealing with the theoretical. Consequently, the United States Coast Guard put their Semper Paratus mottoAlways Ready-to the test with other local agencies as they participated in the Sabine-Neches Emergency Coordination and Response exercise [July 15-17] in Beaumont. The simulated training was in response to a multi-mode terrorist attack. The command center was headquartered at Ford Park. Bob Stegall is the security specialist for the USCG Marine Safety Unit in Port Arthur and director of the event. He said this event has been in the planning for the last three to four years between federal, state and local agencies working together. “We’ve had a great response from the three county judges (Jefferson, Orange and Hardin counties) and emergency response coordinators,” Stegall said. “We’ve had over 600 city and county responders trained in incident command.” The exercise was designed for a regulated response, to pool resources and to pool responses. Part of the pooling of resources is a statewide program where first responders can continue performing their jobs while other emergency personnel gather and look at resources to assist them. “There are different targets readily available in the area and some vulnerabilities, but we can respond on sea and on land,” Stegall said. “We feel this is a prime target area. We train to respond and hone our abilities and capabilities and learn some lessons so we can improve.”

Some of the lessons learned at the terrorist training were gleaned from dealing with Hurricane Rita. Stegall said every third month, cities conduct emergency response team training that involves entire city staffs including city managers and city attorneys. “They’re enthusiastic about it. They’ve seen what happened from Rita and they don’t want it to happen again,” he said. Another component of the training is developing a common terminology and common paperwork of documentation and ordering supplies. Also, crosstraining throughout the state enables responders to be called up and relieve others in emergency situations. Stegall further said port facilities have been spot-checked up and down the Gulf Coast and the Coast Guard was “very pleased with the results and ready to go.” The USCG has also been assisted with technological advances to utilize for security along with the awarding of port security grants for equipment such as boats, helicopters, etc. John Owens is deputy chief of the Port Arthur Police Department and the emergency management coordinator for the city. He said regional responders responded to simultaneous events during the terrorist simulations at multiple locations in the area such as the Montagne Center at Lamar University and the Port of Beaumont. The exercises worked on response, communication and recovery. Stephen L. Curran, fire chief of Port Neches and emergency management coordinator for the city, said the multiple events ranged from Beaumont to Sabine Pass for practicing response capabilities, command and control and whatever else needed to be done. “It’s been a friendly encounter and an efficient response. I don’t think any agencies have worked better together in the entire state of Texas,” Curran said. Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.

(TOP, LEFT) A United States Coast Guard patrol boat guards the security boom across the entrance to the Harbor Island Marine Terminal and the Main Street wharves; (TOP, RIGHT) Port Authority Police Chief Norman Reynolds (center) interviews with Port Arthur News photographer Mike Tobias (left) and KBTV-TV cameraman Chip Fields (right); (BOTTOM) Coast Guard crew members speed through a sharp turn shortly after the mock exercise’s terror alert level rose to MARSEC Level 3.

USCG puts Semper paratus to test at training event (Story from the July 17, 2008, edition of the Port Arthur News. Reprinted with permission. Photos by the Port of Beaumont.)

Port scenes

With the Beaumont skyline on the horizon, the Moran tugboat Cape Ann departs along the Sabine-Neches Waterway.

Work continues on the new dock facility along the east bank of the Sabine-Neches Waterway. Orion Construction began driving piles this summer, and work was only briefly interrupted by Hurricane Ike. The new dock facility is part of the port’s capital improvement program.

U.S. Army Col. (Promotable) John O’Connor (left), Surface Deployment and Distribution Command deputy commander, visited the port in September. Port director Chris Fisher (center) and Lt. Col. Marshall Ramsey, commander of the 842nd Transportation Battalion, briefed him on port operations.

Port of Beaumont Navigation District of Jefferson County, Texas MISSION STATEMENT: The Port of Beaumont Navigation District of Jefferson County, Texas is responsible to the taxpayers of its district for the improvement of navigation and the development of maritime shipping and waterborne related commerce to and from its wharves; and for maintenance, development, extension and improvement of wharf and dock facilities of the Port of Beaumont to promote economic growth in our district, the State of Texas and in the interest of national defense.

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS C.A. “Pete” Shelton, president H.M. “Henry” Nix, Jr., vice president Georgine Guillory, secretary-treasurer Floy Nell Clark Louis Broussard, Jr. Lee E. Smith

STAFF David C. Fisher, port director Bill Carpenter, deputy director Ernest L. Bezdek, trade development director John Roby, customer service director Kirby Dartez, operations director Al Matulich, dock superintendent Sam Serio, maintenance supervisor Brenda Whitworth, finance director Janet Floyd, human resources manager Norman Reynolds, port authority police chief Mike D. Smith, public relations manager

Comments, questions and suggestions about this publication should be directed to Mike D. Smith, at (409) 835-5367 or [email protected].