1

SOME CHANGESARE FORTHE BETFER.

TFL TO P&O CONTAINERS.A CHANGE OF

GLOBAL SIGNIFICANCE.Three years ago, when TFL and P&O

joined forces, it enabled TFL to extendthe service it could provide to its clients.P&O gave TFL global capabilities.

P&O Containers is part of the P&OGroup, a company with 150 years of ex-perience on the high seas. And becausethe Atlantic may not be the only body ofwater, nor Europe the only land massthat separates your cargo from its destina-tion, P&O puts you in a position to get itthere, almost anywhere.

In addition, P&O is one of the bestknown names in transport in Europe,Asia, Africa, Australasia and the MiddleEast. The name P&O opens doors for youaround the world.

But TFL to P&O is more than justname-dropping. It spells a change ofglobal proportions. One that we’re sureyou’ll agree is a change for the better.

P&O Containers"9~’ITH YOU ALl+ +II-IE \\RY

Tune in to the benefits of increased sailings toNorth Europe. Mexican Line provides accurateschedules and rapid transit times. Get fast andfrequent service to North Europe.Contact Mexican Line today.

i~IEXICAitl L lltlETRANSPORTACION MAfllTIMA MEXICANA, S.A. de C.V.

Your Independent AlternativeHouston (713) 956-2200 ¯ Los Angeles (213) 514-2929

With offices in Chicago. Dallas. Miami. Mobile.New Orleans, New York and San Francisco

rolume 33 June !990 Number 6

AMES D. PUGH~xecutive Director & CEO

t. THOMAS KORNEGAYdanaging Director

lAMES E. BAKER)irector of Port Operations

:. WILLIAM COLBURN~irector of Economic Development

~,NTERO W. HIETALADirector of Trade Development

LINDA S. REESEDirector of Administration

IOE SCROGGINS, JR.Director of Facilities

JOE F. FLACKCounty Auditor

OfficialPublicationPort ofHoustonAuthority

Page 4

Houston Public ElevatorQuality first, last and always

China Ocean Shipping Co.Demonstrating optimism about world trade

Harbor maintenance taxGuest column: AAPA’s Eric Stromberg

Forest productsHouston is top U.S. Gulf port for export paper

4

12

THE PORT OF HOUSTON MAGAZINE is publishedmonthly by the Port of Houston Authority, 1519Capitol Ave., Houston, Texas 77002, and isdistributed free to maritime, industrial andmmsportation interests in the United States andforeign countries. POSTMASTER: Send addresschanges to PORT OF HOUSTON MAGAZINE,P.O. Box 2562, Houston, TX 77252-2562. Themagazine staff includes: CommunicationsManager, Hal Lacy; Editor, Ann Bordelon;Advertising Sales, Sheila Adams; Artist/Produc-tion Coordinator, Ken Burke; Writer, SusanHumphrey; and Photographer, Ray Soto. Thispublication is not copyrighted and permissionis given for the reproduction or use of anyoriginal materials, provided credit is given tothe Port of Houston Authority. Additional infor-mation, extra copies or advertising rates maybe obtained by writing the PORT OF HOUSTONMAGAZINE.

Port Tidings 15

Port Side 30

Liner Services 34

Executive Offices1519 Capitol AvenueP.O. Box 2562

Houston, TX 77252-2562Tel: (7t3) 226-2100TWX: 910-881-5787Telecopier: (713) 226-2134

Field Offices60 East 42nd Street

New York, NY 10165Tel: (212) 867-2780Fax: (212) 983-2746

A vessel takes on wheat at the Houston

Public Elevator, a Port of HoustonAuthority facility designed to preserve

shipment quality while providinghighly efficient movement of bulkgrain.

Torre KLM, Pent HouseAvda. Romulo GallegosSanta EduvigisCaracas 1071, VenezuelaCountry Number: 01-58-2Tel: 283-1489Fax: 283-2067Telex: 25541, 27244

NED HOLMES H.J. MIDDI.ETON MILTON CARROLL ROBERT GILLETTE LEROY BRIINER C,C. SMITHERMAN J MICHAEL SOLARChairman Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commisskmer

HOUSTON PUBLIC ELEVATOR:QUALITY FIRST LAST

AND A LW,4,YShen two of the world’slargest pasta makersneeded high-qualitywheat last year, they

sounted on the Houston PublicElevator. The Italian companiesmake their best-selling spaghetti,Linguine and other pasta productswith U.S. durum wheat. That wheatmoved through the Houston PublicElevator, where quality is an impor-Lant issue at all times.

The Houston Public Elevator hasestablished itself as a facility that canmeet even the most exacting grainquality requirements. Finicky cus-tomers won’t be disappointed.

SPECIAL SERVICES "We have a trackrecord of meeting and exceeding ourcustomers’ grain quality require-ments," says Andy Shetler, assistantmanager of bulk facilities for thePort of Houston Authority. "We havea specialty that many elevators can’t

provide. Ample storage bins allow usto handle a greater variety of grainsand segregate different qualities of aparticular grain."

Among the happy customers werethe shippers sending grain to the twoItalian pasta companies. The eleva-tor has handled shipments of U.S.-grown wheat for the companies, en-suring that they received enhancedNo. 1 quality durum.QUALITY ASSURANCE Automated sam-plers allow elevator operators todetermine the quality of each ship-

ment before it is loaded onto thevessel. The elevator’s 600 storagebins provide a total storage capacityof 6.5 million bushels, so shipmentsaren’t commingled.

"There just isn’t another elevatorwith that capacity," says Shetler."These bins allow us to keep grainsseparate and maintain the qualityand integrity of individual ship-ments."EFFICIENT LOADING Not long ago, theelevator loaded three types of wheat-- durum, hard and spring -- aboarda single vessel at a single berth.Because the elevator has amplestorage bins and separate load-outbelts, the commodities remainedseparate from receiving to loading.

"A lot of grain houses don’t havethe ability to handle this kind ofshipment at one berth," Shetler says."The vessel has to move from oneberth to another to load the differentcommodities, and that consumes theshipper’s time and money. But that’snot the case at our facility."DIVERSIFIED BASE Wheat once made up80 to 90 percent of the volume theelevator handles. Most of that washard red winter wheat, which isgrown in Texas, Kansas and Okla-homa. But with a recent shrinkage inU.S. wheat exports, the elevator hasdiversified its commodity base. Cur-rently, wheat represents about 75percent of the elevator’s tonnage.

Last year the elevator handled fourkinds of wheat, plus corn, soybeans,sorghum and oats. The oats includ-ed movements of very high-qualitygrain imported from Norway, Fin-land and Sweden. These countriesproduce the best quality oats in theworld, Shetler says, and most of theseshipments are used for high-qualitylivestock feed.

EXPECTED GROWTH The elevator han-(Continued on Page 8)

5

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The Orange, Texas facilities have twoworking berths accommodating ships to700’, full utilities, 50T floating crane,and complete fabrication and machineshops.

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CHINA OCEAN SHIPPING INITIATESDIRECT SERVICE FAR EAST

y he leaders of China OceanShipping Co. (COSCO) are op-timistic about the growth of

m world trade, and that opti-mism is resulting in better servicefor shippers sending cargo to the FarEast via Houston.

COSCO has demonstrated its op-timism on an international scale inthe past five years by rapidlyexpanding its shipping fleet. Cur-rently, this state-owned companyoperates around 650 vessels, givingChina the sixth-largest merchantfleet in the world.

In addition to building an im-pressive inventory of bulk carriersand tankers, COSCO has been themain player in containerization ofChina’s main trade routes. First,COSCO pursued an aggressive pro-gram of purchasing secondhandcontainer ships. Then, in 1989,COSCO ordered five new 2,700-TEUvessels. Three of these newbuildings-- the M/V TAI HE, the M/V MIN HEand the M/V DONG HE- visitedHouston on their maiden voyages.HOUSTON IMPROVEMENTS Although thenew vessels will not be calling U.S.Gulf ports regularly, other im-provements have been put into placefor shippers using COSCO’s servicebetween Houston and the Far East.As part of COSCO’s overall strategyof growth and expansion, the group’sservice between the U.S. East Coastand the Far East has been realignedto offer three direct sailings permonth, and Houston is the last NorthAmerican port of call for all three.

One of the vessels in the servicewill sail directly from Houston toHong Kong, then on to Shanghai,Xingang and Dalian. At Hong Kong,feeder services will provide access toSingapore, Manila and Malaysia.

The other two vessels in the servicewill sail directly to Yokohama, then

Kobe. At Kobe, cargo may be trans-shipped to Hong Kong, SoutheastAsia and the People’s Republic ofChina (PRC). One vessel will thensail to Xingang, while the other willcall at Shanghai.COSCO SHANGHAI The U.S. East Coastservice is under the supervision ofCOSCO Shanghai, one of five COSCOsubsidiaries. COSCO North Americais the agent for this service, andmaintains an office in Houston,working with Norton Lilly Inc. aslocal agent.

The Houston office is one of fiveCOSCO representative offices in theWestern Hemisphere. Ming Zheng isthe Houston owners’ representativefor COSCO North America, with LuKegang serving as port captain.Dugan Graddy is Norton Lilly’s Gulfline manager for COSCO.

COSCO is the largest ocean ship-ping enterprise in the PRC. Itsvessels account for 75 percent ofChina’s deadweight tonnage andcarry 80 percent of the country’sforeign trade goods.

SUCCESSFUL STRATEGY In 1986, COSCOimplemented a "five fixed things"system, which the organization’s ex-ecutives feel is largely responsiblefor its continued success. The five"fixed things" are lines, vessels,types of cargo, berths and schedules.

Adhering to fixed schedules hasled COSCO to take some economicrisks. When the Shanghai OceanShipping Co. opened its service tothe United States, it did not initiallyget the cargo anticipated, but per-sisted in making the scheduled runs.This strategy eventually resulted inincreased business from this trade.RISKS ARE NECESSARY COSCO tookanother risk last year in ordering thefive new container ships, but top of-ficials are confident they can findthe cargo to fill the added capacity.

"There may be a decrease in trade,but I think it will be temporary. Thetrend is positive," says Chang Sen-chang, president of COSCO NorthAmerica.

In the past, this optimism and will-(Continued on Page 14)

dled 733,800 tons of grain in 1989and more than 258,600 tons duringthe first three months of 1990.Shetler says he is optimistic aboutthe elevator’s volume for the re-mainder of this year.

"We expect to see moderategrowth at our facility and through-out the industry in 1990," he says.

Shetler has cause to be optimistic.A major capital improvement pro-gram began at the elevator in 1987.

Since then, the number of regular ac-counts using the elevator has in-creased. Several changes have beenmade in elevator facilities and pro-cedures, all of them aimed at pro-viding better and more efficientservice.

NEW RAIL SYSTEM Topping the list isthe construction of a $4 million sys-tem that will expedite the handlingof incoming rail cars. Two new hop-per car dumps were installed. Theelevator previously had only one.Hydraulic car pullers- operatedfrom a remote control board -- have

supplanted the man-driven tractorsonce used to move the cars throughthe dump area. New drag conveyors,ballast and rail ties also have beeninstalled.

"Our estimate is that we’ll see a 2Gpercent improvement in our receiv-ing capabilities as a result of the newsystem," Shetler says.

The elevator is getting a new look,too. Elevator personnel are reno-vating the silo exteriors, patching ex-posed areas and cleaning andcoating the concrete. The headhouseis slated for the same treatment."This is more than cosmeticsurgery," Shetler emphasizes. Therenovation work will protect theelevator’s exterior from theelements.OTHER IMPROVEMENTS The Port Authori-ty also is replacing the elevator’strippers, devices that direct the flowof grain from the conveyor systeminto the shipping bins. Four of theelevator’s 11 trippers were replacedin 1989, and four more will bereplaced this year.

These are only the most recent im-provements initiated at the elevatorsince 1987. Other improvements in-cluded installation of automatedgrain samplers, application of food-grade mineral oil to inbound grainto control dust and the addition ofscale printers and personal com-puters, which allow elevator staff toprovide timely and more detailed in-formation to customers.

A new internal telephone systemwas installed to enhance com-munications among elevator staffwhile handling shipments. Also, asophisticated control board was in-stalled that operates the elevator’sturnheads, which direct the flow ofgrain to the spouts.

"It’s a constant process," saysShetler. "We are always looking forways to improve our operation inorder to benefit our customers." []

T he board of directors of the American Associa-tion of Port Authorities recently voted tostrongly oppose any increase in the currentlevel of the Harbor Maintenance Tax, claiming

that the negotiated "partnership" agreed to in the 1986Water Resources Development Act is being unilaterallymodified by the federal government.

The 1986 act initiated a cost-sharing "partnership"between the federal government and local maritimecommunities. Local port authorities agreed to shareup to 50 percent of the cost of deepening channelsin their harbors. They also agreed to the concept ofa tax on cargoes designed to pay 40 percent of the

AAPA STRONGLY OPPOSES

HARBOR TAX INCREASEby

Eric Stromberg

President,

American

Association

of

Port

Authorities

cost of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ operationsand maintenance budget for the nation’s commercialnavigation system. The terms of the 1986 act weredrafted after more than six years of intensive debateon how the nation’s channels would be improved andmaintained.

PROPOSAL WOULD TRIPLE TAXPresident Bush has now proposed tripling the tax,

currently levied at .04 percent ad valorem, to .125percent ad valorem.

James O’Brien, chairman of AAPA’s U.S. delega-tion and executive director of transportation servicesof the Port of Oakland, has described the situationperfectly:

"The current tax collection appears to be coveringfar in excess of 40 percent of the actual dredging coststo maintain deep-draft ports. Increasing the tax wouldunfairly penalize U.S. exports and imports by raisingfunds in excess of the service rendered to the tradecommunity. Furthermore, at a time when export com-petitiveness is a key objective of U.S. trade policy,this tax increase will disadvantage U.S. traders. It couldalso result in U.S. cargoes being diverted through Cana-dian ports where the tax does not apply."

As an example, the new tax could cost the exporterof an ocean container carrying high technology goodsapproximately $150, up from a current tax of $48.Instead of representing 1.6 percent of the total oceantransportation cost, the tax would equal 5 percent ofthat cost.

Revenues from the tax finance the operations andmaintenance activities of the U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers. However, the surplus revenues created byraising the tax to .125 percent would be used to sub-sidize the maintenance of low-use and recreationalprojects at the expense of deep-draft commercial ports.

BETTER ENFORCEMENT IS NEEDEDCurrently, there are also major problems with the

enforcement and collection of the fee by the U.S.Customs Service, with many shippers simply not pay-ing the fee. Better enforcement would seem to be amore appropriate step, rather than seeking to raisethe tax.

The United States collects more than $12 billionin customs revenues on cargoes that transit the na-tion’s ports, in addition to more than $10 billion infederal tax revenues resulting from international trade.In addition, commercial port activity contributes morethan $50 billion to the gross national product andgenerates more than 1.2 million jobs.

The administration’s recently released NationalTransportation Plan endorsed yet another "new part-nership" to "keep the transportation industry strongand competitive." How can the federal governmentask the transportation industry to accept the new rateswhen it was only three years ago that the last "newpartnership" set them? The AAPA strongly opposesthe proposed increase. []

a

MITSUBISHI RAYON PLANS BAYPORT FACILITYpact of $29.7 million, said Johnfor copy machines, inks, adhesives

and paints.MARKETS Dianal will supplypolymers to companies throughoutthe United States and plans to exportto Australia and Asia in the nearfuture.

Construction of the plant is ex-pected to begin by mid-1991. The $15million to $20 million investment isexpected to create approximately 30jobs with an annual economic im-

Mitsubishi Rayon Co. Ltd., aleading Japanese chemical com-pany, will build a chemical plant inthe Bayport Industrial Park on theHouston Ship Channel.

The plant will operate under thename Dianal America Inc. and willbe a fully owned subsidiary of Mit-subishi Rayon. The plant willspecialize in the production ofacrylic specialty polymers, whichare used in the production of toners

Brock, president of the GreaterHouston Partnership’s EconomicDevelopment Division.HOUSTON ADVANTAGES Houston wasselected for the plant site overseveral other cities that were underconsideration, said Yataro Nagai,president of Mitsubishi Rayon.

"We have been exporting thepolymers for the last six years tomore than 40 states in the UnitedStates," Nagai said. "Because ofHouston’s petrochemical infrastruc-ture, port facilities and humanresource capabilities, we chose tobegin production of our chemicals atthe Bayport Industrial Park as op-posed to continuing to export themfrom Japan."ONE OF A KIND Houston is the onlyU.S. city in which six Japanesechemical companies have selectedplant sites concentrated in onelocation.

Mitsubishi Rayon has four othersubsidiaries in the United Stateslocated in Indiana, Ohio, Californiaand Alabama.

SOUTH ATLANTIC~GULFPOSTS FILLED BY ACL

Atlantic Container Line (ACL) hasnamed Paul McGrath as generalmanager, and Halina Korab hasbeen named marketing manager forthe company’s South Atlantic andGulf service.RESPONSIBILITIES McGrath will beresponsible for ACL’s South Atlanticand Gulf European trade route. Hepreviously was regional salesmanager for the line’s Baltimore andPhiladelphia operations.

Korab will oversee all marketingand profitability functions for theSouth Atlantic and Gulf service. Shepreviously was a senior marketinganalyst for ACL’s westbound trade.OTHER APPOINTMENTS Other recent ap-pointments announced by ACL are:Paul Seelig, United Kingdom trademanager; Chris Newlands, northcontinent trade manager; DennisMcGale, Scandinavian trade man-ager; Martin Reeves, vice presidentof Canadian trades; and RaymondHemberger, general manager ofCanadian trades.

10

BILL D 0 YL E IS 19 90 EMPLOYEE OF THE YEA RBill Doyle, a construction inspec-

tor, has been named the Port ofHouston Authority’s 1990 Employeeof the Year. He was honored duringthe annual PHA employee picnic inMay.

Doyle joined the Port Authority in1971. He works in the engineeringdepartment, which is part of thePHA facilities division. His job is toinspect PHA construction projects,maintaining quality control andmonitoring each contractor’s com-pliance with Port Authority specifi-cations.

"Bill puts extra effort into everyjob he does. Any project he inspectsis a project well done," said JimPugh, PHA executive director."He is respected by coworkers andcontractors alike."

Throughout the year, the PortAuthority recognizes one outstand-ing employee from each of five divi-sions. These five employees are can-didates for the Employee of the YearAward, which is presented eachspring.

Port Authority Executive Director Jim Pugh (right) congratulates Bill Doyle,employee of the year, during PHA’s annual employee picnic.

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11

HOUSTON EXCELS IN HANDLING

FOREST PRODUCTS

Forests cover 28 percent of theearth’s land area. Together,these forests contain enoughtrees to produce 150 trillion

board feet* of lumber. Few materialsspawn the diversity of products thatwood does, and few commoditieshave so great an impact on our day-to-day existence.

Exports of U.S. forest products areexpected to grow by 5 percent to 10percent this year, industry observerssay. Contributing to that growth willbe the reunification of Germany andthe move toward the European Com-munity’s single mar-ket. And Japan, al-ready the biggestbuyer of U.S. forestproducts, has agreedto remove Japaneseimport restrictionson U.S. wood prod-ucts.INCREASE EXPECTED "Theevents all point to anincreased volume of forest productsmoving through the Port of Houstonin 1990" said Andy Hietala, directorof trade development for the Port ofHouston Authority. "Houston’sdiverse facilities, proximity to majormarkets and competitive inlanddistribution costs make the port anexcellent choice for these com-modities."

The Port of Houston handled morethan 455,000 tons of forest productsin 1989. Two-thirds of that consistedof paper, such as newsprint, filterpaper, cigarette paper, sulfite andsulfate paper, chart and graph paperand paperboard. The port also han-dled a wide selection of wood prod-ucts, including lumber, logs, woodpulp, wood veneers and plywood.PAPER IMPORTS Houston led the U.S.

U.S. Gulf in paperand paperboard imports

in 1989

* "’Board Foot" is a measurementone foot square by one inch thick.

Gulf in paper and paperboard im-ports in 1989, handling 196,285 tons.Top countries of origin for these im-ports were Canada, Sweden, Finland,the Netherlands and Norway.

Newsprint is Houston’s chief paperimport and is the bread and butterof a company named TNE TNF is atrucking company that specializes inthe transportation of newsprint. Theoperation handles newsprint des-tined for major newspapers inHouston, Dallas and San Antonio."We expect tonnage to pick up thisyear," says Terry Davis, president of

TNF. "The localeconomy is improv-ing, and some ofthese newspapers areexpanding and buy-ing more newsprint"PAPER EXPORTS On theexport side, Houstonloaded 117,180 tons ofpaper in 1989. TheUnited Kingdom,

China, Brazil, Turkey and Pakistanwere the leading countries ofdestination.

U.S. paper exports rose modestly in1989 and, due to increased paper pro-duction, are likely to show continuedgrowth in 1990. That growth would begood news for the Port of Houston.

"Any increase in U.S. paper exportswill mean more business for the Portof Houston," said Hietala. "Inlanddistribution costs are a major con-sideration in transporting paper.Houston is a natural load port forpaper originating at mills in Texasand adjacent states."WOOD PRODUCTS Another promisingmarket for Houston is in exportingwood and lumber. Lumber and woodexports through Houston totaled92,390 tons in 1989 and could expandsignificantly this year, following a

(Continued on Page 16)

13

]]

il iili !ii!i i!!!!ii i ! ii !!

COSCOingness to take risks in order to pro-vide service has worked. COSCO nowoperates full container services onall major trades and maintains anintensive shortsea network in Asia,especially to Japan and Hong Kong.FUTURE PLANS Next, the COSCO sub-sidiaries plan to strengthen theirlandside operations and customerservice. If the buildings boost U.S.liftings, COSCO may have enoughtraffic to provide its own dedicatedintermodal links. COSCO hasalready set up its own freight for-warding department (Cosfre), and in the early stages of building an in-ternational communications andcomputer network.

In Houston; COSCO vessels call atthe Fentress Bracewell Barbours CutContainer Terminal, a sophisticatedintermodal facility operated by thePort of Houston Authority. Designedespecially for quick and efficienthandling of container vessels, Bar-bours Cut Terminal can also accom-modate RO/RO and heavy-liftcargoes. []

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14

Barbours Cut projects designed to reducemaintenance on yard and container cranes

Two new projects are under wayat Fentress Bracewell Barbours CutContainer Terminal. Both are de-signed to cut the time required tomaintain the terminal’s cranes, thusincreasing availability of these keypieces of cargo-handling equipment.

Prime Equipment Co. was award-ed a contract for the purchase of an80-foot aerial work platform to beused at the terminal. Maintenancepersonnel will use the platform togain access to hard-to-reach sec-tions of the terminal’s yard andwharf cranes. The platform will cost$117,400.

In addition, the Port Authorityrecently sought bids for replace-ment of the anti-sway systems on

five yard cranes at the terminal. Thework will cost approximately $15,000.

Six of the terminal’s 11 yard cranesare equipped with manufacturer-designed systems that reduce theswaying of the cranes when thespreader bars trolley or gantry. Thesystems use coiled springs, cablesand sheaves and are expensive anddifficult to maintain.

The terminal’s maintenance depart-ment has developed an alternativesystem using hydraulic cylinders toreduce swaying. The new system wasinstalled on one crane last Octoberand has proved to be superior in per-formance and easier to maintain.Plans call for installation of the alter-native system on the five remainingcranes.

Landscaping, road improvements beginat M/V SAM HOUSTON docking facility

Work is beginning on landscap-ing and road improvements for theM/V SAM HOUSTON’s new dock-ing facility.

The SAM HOUSTON is the Portof Houston Authority’s inspectionand tour vessel. A new pavilionand docking facility will be builtfor the vessel on the north side ofthe Turning Basin Terminal.

Port of Houston Commissionersrecently sought bids for landscap-ing the entry drive from Gate 8 ofthe Turning Basin Terminal to thevessel’s docking area. Gate 8 isthe primary entrance for visitorstaking port tours aboard the SAMHOUSTON. The work is expectedto cost $75,000.

The Port Commission has alreadyawarded a contract to Calco Con-structors Inc. for improvements to

the road leading to the SAMHOUSTON slip. The work will costapproximately $186,300.

Calco will build an asphalt overlayon the road and handle draining andgrading work in the area.

Manchester 2 shedgets new roof drains

Jerdon Construction Co. has re-ceived a contract to replace the roofdrain system for the transit shed atManchester Wharf 2.

The system needs replacement dueto age. ELCO Corp. most recentlyused the shed for storing and ship-ping rice. The work will cost approx-imately $144,000.

rill .d~h.

Front-end loader setfor restoration soon

Mustang Tractor and EquipmentCo. has received a contract to in-spect and restore a front-end loaderused at the Bulk Materials HandlingPlant.

The Traxcavator, manufactured byCaterpillar, is used to transfer cargoand switch rail cars at the plant. Therestoration will cost approximately$12,000.

Potable water systemslated at Jacintoport

The Port of Houston Authorityrecently sought bids for the con-struction of a potable water systemto serve vessels calling at Jacin-toport Terminal.

The existing system was in-operable when the Port Authoritypurchased the terminal in 1987. Anew system is needed to servevessels calling at Omniport Houston,a privately run automated breakbulkfacility at Jacintoport.

Plans call for construction of 1,900linear feet of six-inch water line, anew water meter, two ship-wateringstations and necessary valves andappurtenances. The work will costapproximately $185,000.

More abandoned oil linesremoved at Turning Basin

Cold Cut Systems Inc. recentlyfinished cleaning and removingabandoned oil lines located belowWharves 18-25 in the Turning BasinTerminal.

The lines were once operated byan oil company but were transferredto Port Authority ownership in 1975and have not been used since. Thework cost $374,760.

Remaining lines under wharves atthe terminal will be cleaned andremoved in two phases.

15

FOREST PRODUCTSLumber and wood imports products moving through Houston is

through Houston totaled 49,755 tons already long, some in the industry(Continued from Page 12) in 1989. Countries of origin for the say it’s getting even longer. Ryan-

imports included Brazil, Chile, Walsh Inc., one of the country’snational trend. U.S. wood exports, largest stevedoring companies, is awhich reached a record $6 billion major handler of forest products at

The goa/ is to find faster,more economical waysmove forest products,

last year, are expected to increase by the Port of Houston. Ryan-Walsh’sas much as 15 percent in 1990. U.S. staple forest goods are newsprint,exports will likely grow in part due linerboard, plywood, lumber andto political and economic changes in magazine paper. However, DaveEurope. Those events are also ex- Sweeney, the company’s forest prod-pected to benefit Houston, since uct services manager, says the com-Spain, Italy and West Germany are party has handled additional prod-

, three of the port’s top recipients of China, Indonesia and Singapore. ucts in recent years.forest products. NEW PRODUCTSWhile the list of forest "A few years ago, we started seeing

J shipments of tissue and the paperused for food cartons," Sweeney said."One product that’s fairly new toHouston is wood pulp. It’s somethingI hadn’t seen on the docks in years.But starting about 18 to 24 monthsago, it began to show up regularly.We’re getting more requests to han-dle pulp, and other stevedores are,too."BETTER HANDLING As the range andvolume of forest products increases,the transportation community’s goalis to find faster and more economi-cal ways to move these commodities.

"We want to work with shippersand other segments of the industryto develop innovative means formoving forest products," saidHietala. "We’ve already discussedsome promising ideas and welcomecompanies to suggest additional

, ways in which we can help them." []

There’s Worldwide EBELING NAMED TO¯ When your LCL WALLENIU$ POSTSupport w~th Every shipment leaves

Raymond Ebeling was appointedyour hands, you¯ executive vice president of Wal-

t°’-’-men" want to know where it is and when it will¯ arrive. That’s where Votainer can do a lot lenius Motorships Inc., effective

more for you. We have combined intermodal April 2. He will oversee the com-

transportation with state-of-the-art communicatiofis so we know party’s marketing, sales, traffic and

where your LCL shipment is any time, anywhere, customer service functions.As a member of the Netherlands-based Van Ommeren Ceteco Ebeling previously was vice presi-

Group, we are an integral part of a global network serving 74 ports, dent of pricing and marketing forSea-Land Services’ Atlantic division.with full-time offices in 45 countries. Yet, as an independent group

and one of the largest NVOCC operators, Votainer offers complete- For the past two years, he has beenly personalized service, chairman of the ocean common car-

Votainer’s reputation as the leader in the NVOCC industry has tier coalition.

been earned by meeting the special needs of LCL shippers. Wallenius Motorships is the U.S.

Because LCLis notjusta

~ VOTAINER

subsidiary of Wallenius Lines of

part of our business, it’s Sweden and is based in New Jersey.

our only business! Wallenius Lines pioneered trans-A member of the oceanic car transportation and inVan Ommeren Ceteco Group 1989 carried over I million vehicles(713) 674-8888 in its worldwide services.

16

HOUSTON TONNAGE INCREASESDURING FIRST QUARTER OF 1990

Total tonnage at the Port ofHouston was up 3 percent for thefirst quarter of 1990.

The port’s private and publicfacilities handled almost 22.8million tons of cargo during thethree-month period, compared to22.1 million tons for the first quarterof 1989. The figures are based on thePort of Houston Authority’s volun-tary reporting system.BULK INCREASES At Port Authorityfacilities, tonnage decreased 5 per-cent to 4 million tons. However, ton-

nage rose 57 percent at the PHA BulkMaterials Handling Plant for a totalof 138,000 tons.

Bulk cargo rose 5 percent at theport’s public and private facilities,totaling 20.9 million tons. Thelargest bulk increase was petroleumproducts, up 74 percent to 10.7million tons. Industrial chemicalsrose 1 percent for the quarter, total-ing 5 million tons.

General cargo declined 21 percentportwide, finishing the quarter at 1.8million tons.

BARWIL TO REPRESENT JUMBO IN U.S. GULFBarwil Agencies has been named

sales agents for Jumbo Shipping ofGeneva in the U.S. Gulf region.

Jumbo is a contractor forworldwide sea transport of specialcargoes and has more than 20 years’experience in special ordershipping.SPECIAL VESSELS Jumbo operates a fleetof specially designed vessels that can

lift pieces weighing up to 1,000 tonsand stow items up to 100 meterslong.

Universal Landsea Transport ofRed Bank, New Jersey, is the generalU.S. agent for Jumbo Shipping. Bar-wil will serve as subagent to Univer-sal for Jumbo Shipping’s salesactivities.

TOUCH AND GO!Don’t waste time waiting

for the container youneed to be released.

Call

before

you go J

678-7600

Container Inquiry SystemAnother customer service feature at the

Fentress Bracewell Barbours Cut Container TerminaloPort of Houston Authoritye

I VN’~RN nI ine1~

Houston & New Orleans To:

Rio de Janeiro ̄ SantosParanagua

Buenos Aires ¯ MontevideoOther Ports on Inducement

Breakbulk, containers anddeep tanks available.

General Agent:IVARAN AGENCIES INC.

One Exchange Plaza(at 55 Broadway)

New York, New York 10006(212) 809-1220

Gulf Agent:Riise Shipping, Inc.

1235 N. Loop West, Suite 620Houston, Texas 77008

(713) 880-5343

TWX: (910) 881-5029

CABLE: RIISE

TELEX: 166485

Canal Place One, Suite 2030New Orleans, Louisiana 70130

(504) 581-5721

TWX: (810) 951-5020

CABLE: RIISE

TELEX: 161745

17

TOTAL PACKING, FORWARDING AND LOGISTICS SERVICES¯ Ocean Freight Packing¯ Ocean Freight Forwarding

¯ Container Stuffing & Car Loading¯ Air Freight Packing¯ Air Freight Forwarding¯ Off Site Project Management/

Rig Movements

HOUSTON PROUD SINCE "1955"

FOREIGN TRADE EXPORT PACKING CO.1350 LATHROP, HOUSTON, TEXAS 77020P.O. BOX 9189, HOUSTON, TEXAS 77261(713) 672-8211FAX (713) 672-2057TELEX 790985FORTREX HOU

¯ Specialized Packing¯ Full Service Travel Agency¯ Complete Materials Handling¯ Total Computer Control Purchase

Order Tracking¯ International Procurement Services¯ 8 Acre Complex, 100,000 Sq. Ft.

Warehouse

"IF THE SHIP CAN HAUL IT, WE CAN PACK IT"

FOREIGN TRAVEL SERVICE1350 LATHROP, HOUSTON, TEXAS 77020P.O. BOX 9189, HOUSTON, TEXAS 77261(713) 672-6418 FAX (713) 672-2057

E. S. BINNINGS, INC.TRANSPORTATION SPECIALISTS ¯ SHIP AGENTS ¯ STEVEDORES ¯ CONSULTANTS

1415 N. Loop WestSuite 1200

Houston, TX 77008713-861-2772

228 St. Charles Ave.724 Whitney Building

New Orleans, LA 70130504-586-O7OO

3141 Hood St.Suite 618

Dallas, TX 75219214-528-3545

301 Washington Ave.Suite 103

Memphis, TN 38103901-527-6511