Page 65 - South Mississippi Living - August, 2018

story by Kelsey Sunderman-Foster photos by Neil Ladner
deliver green fruits like bananas, pineapples and plantains from Central America; Crowley, a service liner that ships a variety of products between Gulfport and Central America; Chemours, a leading manufacturer of titanium dioxide, which is widely used in toothpaste and white pigments; McDermott, an oil and gas supply company; TopShip, that has plans for shipbuilding operations at the Port’s facility located on Seaway Road; SeaOne,
a company that plans to construct
a Compressed Gas Liquids (CGL) production facility on the west pier; MARAD, the agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation that deals with waterborne transportation including the movement of military equipment; the University of
Southern Mississippi, which has a marine research center located on Port property; and Island View Casino, whose buildings south of Highway 90 are also on Port property.
With all these different tenants, each with specific needs, it’s important that the Port is able to accommodate each individually. “After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, we began a $570 million restoration project that included the construction of the new state-of-the-art facilities tailored to not only suit the current needs of our tenants, but meet their future needs as well,” said Kimberly Aguillard, media and marketing manager at the Port. “This includes 400,000 square feet of covered warehouse space with dry and cold storage capacity for our tenants. We have also added three
ship-to-shore gantry cranes, which are used to unload and load containers from the ships allowing for a more efficient operation.”
Once the ships arrive in Gulfport, the unloading process begins. With two cranes operating at any time, ships can be completely unloaded and reloaded within a matter of 12 to 14 hours. Following this, cargo is taken through customs and is either stored in the warehouse or loaded onto trailers to await pickup.
The Port is always in motion, 24-hours a day and even on holidays, closing only in the event of a hurricane. With so much happening, it’s imperative that the longshoremen keep things organized and on track. When semi truck drivers come in to pick up their cargo, they are directed to the exact location of their shipment and given instruction on where it needs to be taken. Across the yard, trains are loaded and unloaded, constantly bringing cargo to and from the warehouse.
“Last year, we had over 200,000 vehicles drive through the Port gates and saw a total of 329 deep draft vessels docked at our Port,” said Aguillard. “As part of our restoration project, we aim to create 1,300 new positions. With numbers like that, we feel we’re well on our way to reaching our goal with 557 jobs already created prior to the project’s completion.”
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August 2018 • SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living 65
Port of Gulfport
30th Ave., Gulfport, MS 228.865.4300 www.shipmspa.com