Editor’s Note: This article is featured in the latest edition of the Port of Brownsville Directory

Arguably, the most valuable asset of any port is the depth of its channel.

The depth of a port’s channel can be compared to the length of an airport’s runway. The longer the runway, the bigger the planes. The deeper the channel, the bigger the ships.

For example, with just one more inch of draft – or depth – a ship can carry 770,000 additional bushels of wheat valued at more than $60,000.

The Port of Brownsville plans to deepen its channel from 42 feet to 52 feet – 10 feet deeper! With that much additional draft, the cost savings for shipping goods across the Earth’s oceans reach an economy of scale far greater that those of the one-inch example. Which also means, more jobs to handle more cargo at the Port of Brownsville.

The port’s cu

The Port of Brownsville knows shipbuilding and ship recycling, a combination of disciplines found nowhere else in the Lone Star State.

With shipbuilding DNA in its heritage, Keppel AmFELS is making waves at the Port of Brownsville. In late-April 2019, dignitaries participated in the ceremonial keel-laying of the M/V George III and the cutting of the first steel plate for the M/V Janet Marie. Delivery for both 774-foot-long vessels is set for 2020.

Keppel, traditionally the port’s largest employer and the foremost U.S. offshore rig builder, recently won construction contracts for the two container ships for Honolulu-based Pasha Hawaii, with options for two more. The contracts, valued at $400 million by Keppel, mean 700 new well-paying jobs at the port in 2019 and a new industry for Texas. The twin U.S. Jones Act vessels carry up to 2,525 TEUs and utilize Keppel’s proprietary LNG

The Port of Brownsville along with the entire trucking industry is honoring the millions of professional truck drivers who work to deliver America’s freight safely and securely every day.

During National Truck Driver Appreciation Week (Sept. 9-13), the Port of Brownsville will offer free breakfast and lunch to truck drivers doing business with the port. The port also partnered with the Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority to distribute 500 giveaway bags to truck drivers at the Foust and SH 550 entrances.

On a daily basis the Port of Brownsville welcomes 800 to 1,000 trucks that enter the port to pick up cargo and deliver it across the nation. The types of commodities they carry- petroleum based products, sugar, salt, windmill components and steal- serve as the backbone of several industries in the U.S.

There are more than 3.5 million professional truck drivers nationwid

In June of this year, the Port of Brownsville ordered two new mobile harbor cranes increasing its dockside handling capacity as the seaport experiences higher cargo volumes across its range of services.

The two new Konecranes Gottwald Model 6 mobile harbor cranes will be delivered to the port fully assembled and commissioned, ready to begin work as early as December 2019. The cranes will handle a wide variety of cargo including breakbulk, bulk products, heavy project cargo and steel products.

The Model 6 cranes have advanced mobile harbor crane drive technology from Konecranes that meets EPA Tier 4f emission standards, helping the Port of Brownsville reduce its environmental footprint.

“The Port of Brownsville continues to invest significantly in its continued growth, including expansion of our on-dock lifting capacity,” said Eduardo A. Campirano, Port Director and CEO of th

By John Reed

Chairman Brownsville Navigation District

The latest economic impact report shows that the Port of Brownsville generated $3 billion in annual economic activity that produced $201 million in tax revenues and supported more than 51,000 jobs across Texas. And we’re just getting started.

As the only deep-water port on the US-Mexico border, the Port of Brownsville is a unique resource in the complex world of logistics. We are strategically located close to major manufacturing centers, energy sources and agriculture markets in both the United States and Mexico. We have convenient rail and interstate highway access into both countries, connecting shippers and producers with markets around the world. We support more than 230 companies currently operating at the port, providing a reliable base for local jobs, taxes and economic activity for the entire regi

Port Director and CEO Eduardo A. Campirano was recently a guest on KURV’s radio show “The Valley’s Morning News”.

Campirano spoke about the Port of Brownsville’s economic impact in the Rio Grande Valley as reported by an independent analysis conducted by Martin Associates.  The report shows that the Port of Brownsville serves as a major economic driver in the development of jobs and revenue in the Rio Grande Valley.

“The port does have a very significant impact not only in the region, but also contributes greatly overall to the maritime industry in the state of Texas.” said Campirano.

Listen to the interview HERE

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In June Signet Maritime celebrated 21 years of tugboat operations at the Port of Brownsville

The company’s full-service navigation center at the Brownsville ship channel provides ship, barge and rig movements as well as harbor tugboat operations since 1998. The Brownsville fleet includes three tugboats, the Signet Defender, Signet Ranger and the Signet Magic. These high-powered tugs assist ships and barges, often more than ten times their size, navigate through the 17-mile long ship channel.

The port’s intermodal expansion and continued growth have led to a higher demand for Signet’s services.

“As the years go by, we are starting to have bigger ships and bigger barges, oil rigs and new demand for more power,” said Ida Treviño, Signet Maritime Operations Manager. Treviño has worked with the company since its inception at the Port of Brownsville.

“Tugboat captains

Port Director and CEO Eduardo A. Campirano was recently a guest on KURV’s radio show “The Valley’s Morning News”.

Campirano spoke about the record-breaking year the port experienced in 2018, as well at the steel industry and other important projects that are helping transform the economic landscape of the Rio Grande Valley.

Listen to the interview HERE

Ranking among the top U.S. steel ports, the Port of Brownsville moves more steel into Mexico than any other domestic competitor. In 2018, the port moved 3.2 million short tons of steel across the southern border.