Port of Corpus Christi board chairman Charles Zahn speaks before a crowd of more than 1,000 business leaders at the local chamber of commerce’s annual State of the Port luncheon on Nov. 2. Courtesy photo
Deep and wide. That’s the song the Port of Corpus Christi hears when it comes to the future of the ship channel that connects the Gulf of Mexico and the world to global industries that have made their homes here.
Deepening and widening the channel must be the port’s first priority in the coming years, said Charles Zahn, chairman of the port’s board of directors, at the annual State of the Port luncheon Nov. 2. Sponsored by the United Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce, the luncheon drew more than 1,000 participants.
The 90-year-old port started as a landing place for cotton wagons and boats. It is now the fifth-largest port in the nation in terms of tonnage, having handled 103.5 million tons of cargo in 2015. Most of that was in petroleum from the Eagle Ford Shale Play. More than 7,000 ships sailed through the port last year, and that number is expected to increase, Zahn said.
Also increasing are the size of the ships. In the past 11 months, the Panama Canal opened its own deeper, wider locks to handle bigger ships, and Congress lifted a 40-year-old embargo on exporting crude oil. Both measures have increased traffic in Corpus Christi waters. In fact, the first ship to leave the U.S. with an export of crude oil to a foreign country sailed from the Port of Corpus Christi in the last days of December 2015.
Currently, the channel is 45 feet deep. It needs to be deepened to 52 feet, making it the deepest port in the state, Zahn said. The channel needs to be widened to 530 feet from 500 feet all the way from Port Aransas to the Harbor Bridge, which is in the process of being replaced. Sometime in 2021, the new Harbor Bridge will open and the old one demolished, making way for taller vessels.
A channel improvement project estimated to cost $350 million has been approved twice by Congress, although no funds have been allocated. The work has begun, however. With approval from the Army Corps of Engineers, the port authority is conducting sediment studies necessary before actual dredging can get underway.
Zahn concluded his upbeat remarks by pointing to the favors left at each plate.
“Join us in embracing the future,” he said. “Everyone put on your sunglasses!”
More than 1,000 pairs of black shades with neon yellow ear pieces were balanced on the noses of Corpus Christi’s business leaders, preparing them for a future so bright …yet another entry in the community songbook.
