Coverage of Hurricane Katrina

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NY Times Article

September 1, 2005 A Distribution System Brought to Its Knees By ALEXEI BARRIONUEVO and CLAUDIA H. DEUTSCH CHICAGO, Aug. 31 - As ports remained closed from Louisiana to Florida on Wednesday, some 300 barges containing grains and other products were left homeless. Under the management of Cargill, a large agriculture producer and exporter, the barges were caught in a bottleneck caused by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Now they are floating on rivers north of New Orleans with nowhere to go. Two days after one of the worst storms ever ravaged the Gulf Coast, large parts of the nation's distribution system were feeling the effects. Major transportation arteries were clogged, and imports and exports had slowed to a crawl. The logistical logjam could delay the production of hundreds of everyday products. The result is that consumers, even those far from the storm's epicenter, might have to pay more for everything from coffee and bananas to paint and tires. Many of the Cargill barges, for example, were loaded with corn, soybeans and wheat, for shipment out of the country, before the storm struck early Monday. With the harvest season for grain less than a month away, grain processors said they were concerned over how long shipping would remain constrained before they must begin their busiest export time of the year, to Europe and Asia. Grains are the largest export likely to be affected by the devastation to the ports, because they are so dependent on the river barge system. In July, about half of the country's grain exports were shipped from the Mississippi River gulf outlet, said David D. Lehman, managing director for commodities at the Chicago Board of Trade. "Those facilities are all without power and could be impacted by the flooding," he said. "If this is a 5- to 10-day problem, it won't significantly impact the grain markets," Mr. Lehman said. If it is longer, then importers will start switching to buying from other ports, mostly likely along the West Coast. But with gasoline and diesel prices being sharply affected by the loss of refining capacity caused by the storm, shifting to other ports will create costly logistical complications that will probably be passed to consumers in the form of higher prices, shipping firms said. David Feider, a spokesman for Cargill, said it was "not feasible" to divert grain shipments to trucks or trains because of the high cost and the loading infrastructure required. Imports are not faring any better. Shippers were scrambling to arrange alternative ports for incoming shipments of oil, chemicals and steel additives. Millions of pounds of coffee remained in storage in New Orleans. "Everything is at a standstill right now," Mr. Feider said. Government officials struggled Wednesday to assess the scope of the damage to the port of New Orleans. Coast Guard officials said that they were finishing underwater surveys of shipping channels. So far they have found an unusual amount of soil and sand build-up, and a number of buoys and other navigational aides either missing, destroyed or misplaced, creating the potential for ships to run aground, said Petty Officer John Miller, a Coast Guard spokesman. Some ships struggled with the question of whether to divert to other ports. The Port of Houston Authority said it was receiving inquiries from carriers about possible diversions. A cargo ship laden with rubber and timber, originally slated to make calls at New Orleans and Pascagoula, Miss., was diverted to Houston Wednesday night, the port authority said. Chiquita Brands International said it had no choice but to reroute shipments of bananas and other fresh produce to ports like Freeport, Tex., and Port Everglades, Fla. Chiquita's facilities in Gulfport, Miss., which last year handled about 25 percent of its banana imports to the United States from Central America, were too damaged to receive shipments, the company said. Meanwhile, companies struggled to get products out of New Orleans. More than 700,000 bags of coffee, each weighing 132 or 150 pounds, remained in storage in New Orleans, said the Chicago Board of Trade. Procter & Gamble said it suffered a heavy loss of coffee production. About half of its Folgers brand of coffee comes out of New Orleans. The facility has been shut since Saturday, and Doug O. Shelton, a Procter spokesman, said the company had no idea when it could reopen. "We're still in the process of trying to re-establish contact with the people who worked in the area," he said. In recent years, ports in Long Beach, Calif., and in the Pacific Northwest became so congested that some companies began importing container shipments of consumer products directly from Asia to gulf ports to more easily distribute to customers in the South and Midwest. Wal-Mart opened a mammoth distribution center outside Houston this summer as part of a direct-import strategy. Christi Gallagher, a spokeswoman for the company, said that while two distribution centers were affected by the storm, the Houston facility and Wal-Mart's many other distribution centers spared the company any major disruptions. Others were not so lucky. Damage was so heavy at one of DuPont's largest titanium dioxide plants, which supplies whiteners and brighteners to paint and coatings manufacturers, and to a plant that makes a chemical precursor to the polyurethane foams used in car dashboards and appliances, that the company has invoked legal clauses used to shield itself from liabilities when it inevitably has to renege on some supply contracts. "It's too early to say how much we've lost, but we've had extensive flooding," said Kelli Kukura, a DuPont spokeswoman. Truckers are also feeling the effects. Shipments in and out of the New Orleans region represent about $1 million a day for Yellow Roadway, a $10 billion trucking company, "and since commerce in the area has pretty much stopped, it will affect those revenues," said William D. Zollars, the chairman. But Mr. Zollars is more concerned about costs than revenues. Yellow Roadway has 20 terminals in the area. "Our terminal in New Orleans has been reduced to a concrete slab, and with communications so bad, we don't know how much damage we've had at others," he said.

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Port of New Orleans Press Release

Gary LaGrange, President and CEO of the Port of New Orleans, had this to say in summarizing the situation at the Port:

"The outcome is not good, and it has been aggravated by unexpected flooding conditions following the storm."

"Yesterday, I thought the damage could have been worse, but today, I'm not so sure."

"It won't be overnight, but eventually we will bounce back bigger and better than ever. Our first priority is to provide peace of mind to the citizens of New Orleans and our employees who have lost so much."

******Please see attachment****** (shown below)

Initial Port Assessment Hurricane Katrina

We took a tour of accessible facilities via land yesterday, Monday, August 29th from approximately 3:30 pm to 7:00 pm and again this morning via water, Tuesday, August 30th, from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. Here is a brief assessment of the situation of the facilities we were able to visit. At this time, we are not in a position to advise the dollar amount to effect repairs. All cargoes in the transit sheds should be inspected at a later time to determine the exact damage and any damage to cargoes caused by water.

Henry Clay Wharf – Heavy damage to roller doors and skylights. Wharf is dry, no flooding. Draft alongside ranged between 36 feet to 38 feet.

Nashville A Wharf – Moderate damage to siding, on the end of the shed, and roller doors. The Fantuzzi mobile Harbor Crane with P & O, looks to be in "operational shape" but would need to be inspected. Draft alongside was better than 39 feet.

Nashville B Wharf – Moderate damage to siding on shed and roller doors, sections of roof missing. Draft alongside between 39 feet to 48 feet.

Napoleon Container Terminal – Numerous stacked containers were "pancaked" in the yard. Our guess is around 100 units and that most were empties. One container had fallen from the stack onto the train adjacent to the facility. A small number of containers on the ground were in approximately 2 feet of water, any cargoes inside would be effected. All 4 port gantry cranes were secured and intact. The two newer cranes though had lost the sides of the cabs where the computer hardware is located. This will advised when technicians can service the equipment. One of the cranes had a container next to the base of the crane. This had fallen from a stack of containers in the back reach of the crane. Also the Zim Ship had left the wharf during the storm and proceeded to anchor (both port and starboard) just off the wharf. Draft alongside was between 46 feet to 51 feet.

Napoleon C Wharf and Milan Street Wharf – The roller doors experienced heavy damage. The draft alongside ranged from 35 feet to 38 feet.

Louisiana Street Wharf – Roller doors appeared to be in good shape, but the new roof had lost sections. The draft alongside ranged from 40 feet to 45 feet.

Harmony Street Wharf – The roof had lost sections. The draft alongside ranged from 36 to 38 feet.

7th Street Wharf – Skylights were missing from the roof, and moderate to heavy damage to the roller doors. The draft ranged between 37 feet to 39 feet.

1st Street Wharf – Heavy damage to the roof and roller doors. Adjacent to the Wharf the Jackson Street Ferry Landing had also experienced major damage. The draft ranged between 38 feet to 44 feet alongside.

Erato Street Wharf – Wharf incurred heavy damage due to a Bollinger Drydock which was adrift from its mooring on the west bank. The drydock moved up the river, impacting the wharf, but missing the Crescent City Connection Bridge . The drydock then became lodged on the west bank across from the Robin Street Wharf .

Julia Street Cruise Terminal – The roof had sections missing. All windows at the terminal appeared to be intact. The new passenger jet way appeared intact as well but will need to be inspected. The auxiliary jet way appeared intact with the canopy still attached. The draft alongside was between 31 feet to 36 feet.

Governor Nicholas Street Wharf – The transit shed had moderate damage to the side panels and roller doors. Draft alongside was sufficient. We were not able to sound with the M/V General Kelly due to a bulk ship being there in a lay berth status.

Esplande Street Wharf - Heavy damage to the siding and the roof. We did not sound alongside due to the vessel in the lay berth.

Pauline Street Wharf – We include the Pauline Street Wharf due to the vessel in the lay berth, the M/V Chios Beauty, lines parted setting it adrift. Vessel is now located on the west bank, having impacted with the Cooper Tug Barge and lodging itself against the barge and at least one tug. We observed two Cooper Tugs trying to dislodge the vessel from the west bank.

Poland Street Wharf – Appeared intact with moderate damage, we did not sound in this area. The "nested" MARAD ships appeared intact.

Alabo Street Wharf – Moderate damage to the skylights and doors. Draft alongside was OK. We did not sound due to a vessel at the berth.

France Road Wharf and Jourdan Street Wharf – We were not able to access these facilities due to flooding in the area. We will advise the status in the near future. It should be noted that electricity has been lost and Jourdan Street Wharf , used to export frozen poultry, and is now without refrigeration.

Summary – Our wharves appear to be, for the most part, intact and able to conduct cargo operations. The transit sheds incurred damage, but could be used while we make repairs. Issues concerning cargo operations would be procuring labor to work the vessels (a lot of the labor most likely incurred heavy damage to their homes or evacuated out of town), distribution of cargoes due to highway connectors being damaged (I-10 twin spans had sections lost and connectors in Orleans and Jefferson Parishes are under water) and initially used for recovery operations, and the ability of the river to receive vessels specifically at the southwest pass and the MRGO. Presently river traffic is limited to tugs, barges, off shore vessels relocating and recovery boats. We must wait now for sounding to be performed by the pilot's organizations and the Army Corp of Engineers. In addition, we need to analyze the Cruise Operation. Right now the Louis Armstrong Airport is underwater and hotels ! supporting the cruise industry need to repair their facilities. We still have autos for passengers parked which incurred heavy damage. We are investigating creating a satellite office within a distance of 50 miles. Discussions have taken place with AAPA (Kurt Nagle- President) and our old friend John Jamien with MARAD, who now works for Secretary of Transportation Norman Minetta for assistance for logistical supply, operations, and medical assistance. Our next step will be to refine our inspections of our facilities and begin the process to repair them. Also we need to meet with the USCG, Army Corp of Engineers, and Pilots Organizations to reopen the river. River traffic, for now, is limited to tugs, barges, offshore vessels, and recovery boats. Follow up with state and federal financial help is beginning and will be addressed shortly as our staff is able to report back. Recommendations from MARAD will be delivered to Secretary Minetta and brought up tomorrow at a cabinet meeting with the president tomorrow. More to follow.

Gary
( La Grange )
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August 31, 2005

Captain Paskewich, COTP, Sector New Orleans, has opened the entire river to tug and barge traffic. USCG is very close to opening most of river to deep draft vessel Shifts within the river, and are working feverishly on getting soundings in the lower river to determine draft and obstructions. He reports there are 80 to 100 barges on the bank around mm 55, and I have other reports some may have sunk, so they are concerned about draft in that area. They currently have (3) ships aground, (2) at AMA anchorage and (1) in Algiers , not blocking traffic. Agents, continue to coordinate movements on a case by case basis until the COTP officially opens the river for inter-port movements.
Captain Paskewich also reports that SW Pass Pilot station and Pilottown are in tact, with some possible damage, but appear operational. They will have a further report today.

Per Captain Gibbs, President of Crescent Pilots. The Coast Guard has coordinated with the Bar and Crescent Pilots presidents to bring a Navy Vessel into the river with about 15 feet of draft. There is another Navy vessel drafting 35 feet that will be brought in when a Bar Pilot is available, and that should be a good test of the status of the channel depth to New Orleans . Captain Gibbs has received word from the Coast Guard, and MRMA has received word from sources, that barges have sunk in the vicinity of mm 55, and that is of concern for channel depth.

Per Captain Watson, President of NOBRA Pilots, they are collecting current contact number of their pilots and have arranged pilots on a case by case basis with the Coast Guard to re-anchor or move about (6) ships so far. Continue to work with the pilots and Coast Guard directly for individual moves of vessels within the upper river. Captain Watson believes that the river north of New Orleans appears to be navigable without obstructions in the channel, but they have not confirmed all areas yet.

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The Coast Guard said the Mississippi River and waterways from Mobile to New Orleans remain closed to ship traffic, although the Intracoastal Canal from Mobile to Panama City, Fla., is open and barge traffic has resumed in Mobile Bay. The Corps of Engineers said it was surveying the condition of river channels, but that many of its resources were being applied to plugging breached levees at New Orleans.

The Port of Gulfport, Miss., which specializes in bananas and other perishables, took a direct hit from the hurricane's 25-foot storm surge and was virtually flattened, with container cranes knocked down and sheds blown apart. The storm surge pushed barges blocks inland and scattered 40-foot containers through downtown Gulfport. A large section of one of the two floating casinos at the port was left high and dry, straddling U.S. Highway 90 north of the port.

Television film taken by helicopter showed that the surge leveled most buildings between the Mississippi Sound and CSX railroad tracks nearly a half mile inland.

The highway, which parallels the beach and abuts the port, was badly damaged, with causeway-type bridges knocked out at Biloxi and Bay St. Louis, Miss. Interstate 10, several miles inland, also was closed from the Alabama line to west of New Orleans by flooding, debris and heavy damage to bridges across the east end of Lake Pontchartrain.

The Port of New Orleans will be closed indefinitely. With most of the city flooded, electricity out, drinking water unsafe, and conditions generally chaotic, the city has been ordered evacuated, and officials say it could be months before residents are permitted to return. Port officials said sheds suffered moderate to heavy damage, and that a laid-up vessel, the Chios Beauty, broke loose and went aground on the Missisippi River's west bank, in the city's Algiers section. The France Road and Jourdan Road terminals at the head of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet were flooded on the first day of the hurricane and remain under water. "The outcome is not good, and it has been aggravated by unexpected flooding conditions following the storm," said Gary LaGrange, the port's president and CEO.

The lower Mississippi is the nation's primary outlet for exported grain, and handles imported oil for several large refineries along the river. Relatively little storm damage was reported along the stretch of river under jurisdiction of the Port of South Louisiana, although that area remained without electricity.

Rail and truck service into the mid-Gulf area remains disrupted. Railroads suspended service to the coastal area before the storm and some rail lines were damaged or flooded. Several major highways in the area remain closed by water, debris, downed power lines or damaged bridges. Besides I-10 and U.S. 90, the list of closed highways includes sections of U.S. 49 north from Gulfport; Interstate 59 through Mississippi; and U.S. 98 from Mobile to Hattiesburg, Miss.

Pascagoula, midway between Gulfport and Mobile, suffered heavy damage, but there was no word as of Thursday morning about the condition of the port. The Port of Mobile suffered substantial damage from a 12-foot storm surge, with containers and debris scattered through the terminal, but port officials expected to be able to resume cargo operations soon.

Crowley Liner Services, which also operates at Gulfport, said its Gulf sailings, including a thrice-weekly service to and from Honduras and Guatemala, has been diverted to Port Everglades.

Chiquita Brands International said Katrina had severely damaged its facilities at Gulfport, and that most of the company's imports of bananas and other fruit will be rerouted through Freeport, Texas, or Port Everglades, Fla. "Fortunately, all 20 of our employees in Gulflport have been accounted for, and we are grateful," said Bob Kistiinger, Chiquita's president and chief operating officer. "While we are still assessing the situation, it is clear that we will need to relocate our services from Gulfport for the foreseeable future," Kistinger said. "However, we are very committed to Gulfport and are developing plans to rebuild our facilities there as soon as possible."

It won't be the first time Gulfport has had to rebuild from a hurricane. The port was closed for several months after it was virtually destroyed by Hurricane Camille in 1969. Survivors of that storm said Katrina's storm surge was even more damaging than Camille's.

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