In preparation for increased shipping traffic at the Port of Corpus Christi, board members raised the penalty for parking too long at a berth to $1,000 an hour from $600 an hour. The action came at a meeting of the Port of Corpus Christi Authority board on Tuesday, March 11. The board also gave the harbor master authority to move a vessel from a berth if a crew stops its continuous unloading.
Only one incident of a ship staying too long in its berth was reported in the last year. The two board-approved changes are designed to stop what could become a problem as the port draws more traffic.
The Port of Corpus Christi is the fifth largest port in the U.S. in terms of tonnage. Business is increasing as the port improves its infrastructure to make way for bigger vessels.
Last year, 6,189 ships used the port from January to November. In 2012, that number was 6,082 for the entire year. Only 5,413 ships were reported in port authority statistics for 2011.
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal called Corpus Christi and its port shining stars of the U.S. energy boom. The article cited figures showing outbound petroleum shipments increased by 45 percent from the previous year.
“Nobody saw this three or four years ago,” Executive Director John LaRue told the Wall Street Journal. “The last three years have been transformational.”
According to LaRue, the port has seen as much activity in the last 18-months as it has in the last 15 years combined. He attributed that increase to development of the Eagle Ford shale formation, which accounted for 677,407 barrels of oil last year compared to 15,149 barrels in 2012. Consequently, payrolls in the area have grown by about 8 percent.
The port recently cut the ribbon on a 1.4-mile dredging project that widened the LaQuinta Channel. Similar to building a highway for truck traffic, the project has already brought in new business to the area. Companies building here because of the increased port capacity include Voestalpine Texas HBI, TPCO American Corp. Steel Pipe, Cheniere Energy and Gulf Compress Cotton Storage.
