The Port of Brownsville launched its newest marketing and communications tool, the 2017 Port of Brownsville Directory, a comprehensive annual guide featuring in-depth articles, facts and details about the port and related industries.

The full color, 82-page publication serves as a useful guide for prospective clients looking to establish business opportunities in the region and for the community at large to learn more about the port’s role as a vital economic engine of the Rio Grande Valley.

The publication includes a detailed 4-page map of the port’s facilities highlighting tenants, docks, sheds, patios and other important assets. The business directory contains almost 300 local, regional, state, national and international businesses listed in 63 different categories.

The directory is distributed to industry related companies and associations, area economic development corpo

The United States Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi, alongside the Port of Brownsville and other federal, state and local agencies, conducted an Area Maritime Security Training and Exercise Program (AMSTEP) table-top exercise in Brownsville on July 12.

This exercise, held at Keppel AmFELS facilities, brought together over 20 federal, state, and local law enforcement and emergency management partner agencies in addition to regulated oil, natural gas, and chemical facilities to test the South Texas Area Maritime Security Plan and assess the response to security incidents.

“This exercise is very important because it brings all of us together at the local, state, and federal levels to talk about processes and procedures on how to elevate maritime security levels,” said Captain Tony Hahn, Sector Commander of Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi.

“We had incredible participation fr

The Texas Shrimp Association kicked off this year’s Gulf shrimp season with the traditional Blessing of the Fleet on July 10, at the Port of Brownsville Fishing Harbor. The commercial Gulf shrimp season officially began on July 15.

Father Mark Watters delivered a powerful sermon and asked the dozens of people gathered at the ceremony to pray for a bountiful harvest this season and for the well-being of all shrimpers while they are out at sea. Among those present at the event were State Rep. Rene Oliveira, D-Brownsville, port officials, local shrimpers and representatives from the Texas Department of Agriculture.

This year’s blessing comes at a challenging time for Rio Grande Valley shrimpers who are facing a shortage of workers to go on the boats and help harvest shrimp due to the lack of H-2B worker visas issued by the federal government. There are approximately 180 shrimp boa

The United States Coast Guard Station South Padre Island hosted a Change of Command ceremony June 28. Lt. Cmdr. Michael Bell released command of the station to Lt. Kurtis Mees.

The ceremony included remarks from Captain Tony Hahn, Commander of the USCG Sector Corpus Christi, who oversees operations for all maritime ports from Port Lavaca to Port of Brownsville.

Lt. Mees is a native of Forsyth, MT, and enlisted in the USCG in 1998. Before being assigned to South Texas, Lt. Mess reported to the Fifth District Command Center in Portsmouth, VA, where he coordinated maritime response operations and later held programmatic oversight of all search and rescue stations and small boats within District AOR.

Lt. Cmdr. Bell assumed his duties as the commanding officer of Station South Padre Island in June 2014.

The Change of Com­mand ceremony is a time-honored na­val tradition. It is a

BY FRANK GARZA/The Brownsville Herald

Article published June 12, 2017

BROWNSVILLE – The Port of Brownsville received welcome news after the 85th legislative session. It could potentially get assistance from a newly established state fund.

With the passage of CSHB 4021, ports across Texas will have access to a ship channel improvement revolving fund.

“It’s an opportunity for capital funding that could be very important in the future,” said Eduardo A. Campirano, director of the Port of Brownsville. “From that perspective, it’s good because there isn’t any program already at the state level to address port infrastructure.”

The legislation gives the port a second source of funding for its dredging project. In December, former president Barack Obama signed the Water Resources and Development Act of 2016, qualifying the port’s plan to

BY GRACE LAVIGNE / American Metal Market

Article published June 6, 2017

NEW YORK — The Texas port of Brownsville’s steel volumes are expected to remain stable despite anti-dumping duties and changing trade strategies, thanks to its unique position as a transshipment point for goods moving to Mexico, according to a port spokesman.

“The port has had a good run of growth in recent years,” Steve Tyndal, the port’s senior director of marketing and business development, told AMM.

In 2016, Brownsville handled 9.3 million tons of cargo including bulk, breakbulk and project cargoes, according to preliminary figures, down from a record 10.1 million tons in 2015, he said. That drop was related to one customer in particular, Tyndal noted, but last year’s figures are still up by more than one-third from 5.6 million tons in 2010.

Nearly one-quarte

BROWNSVILLE – The USS Independence completed its final voyage of 16,000 miles after arriving at the Port of Brownsville Thursday, June 1, 2017. However, the decommissioned aircraft carrier’s service is far from over as some of its steel will be used in the construction of new Navy vessels.

“We recognize that this is a sentimental time for many. Some may view this as an ending, for others it’s a new beginning,” said John Wood, Brownsville Navigation District chairman, at a special ceremony held by International Shipbreaking Ltd. at Isla Blanca Park at South Padre Island. “In her new role, the USS Independence will provide a hopeful future for hundreds of local men and women. Through the jobs created through her repurposing, she will live on, and continue to serve.”

ISL won the Navy bid to recycle the 60,000-ton vessel, the last of the Forrestal-class of “supercarriers