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Port of Houston Authority Open On Limited Basis in Aftermath of Hurricane IkeHOUSTON, Sept. 17, 2008 -- In the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, the Port of Houston Authority is now open on a limited basis. Overall, the port authority facilities and property have had limited negative impact due to the storm. Two factors will facilitate the PHA in operating at full capacity. One is based on the need for permanent electricity. The other factor is PHA receiving clearance by the U.S. Coast Guard. PHA was granted clearance for all of its facilities late this afternoon. Normal operations are expected to resume tomorrow, Thursday, Sept. 18, pending restoration of electrical power. Hurricane Ike had the largest impact on PHA employees who live in the outlying areas. The welfare of PHA's employees, customers and neighbors is its first concern and PHA is empathetic to the personal impact of a natural disaster. PHA has continued to operate over the past five days with a limited staff. All PHA employees have been asked to return to work tomorrow. Today, the U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port for Houston-Galveston opened the Houston Ship Channel with restrictions. PHA is currently working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and local members of Congress in assessing damages and identifying the amount of federal funds needed to restore the Houston Ship Channel to its full depth and width. The PHA is also working with all of the ports in the Texas Gulf region, including Corpus Christi, Beaumont, Brownsville, Freeport, Galveston, Houston, Port Author, Texas City, as well as ports in Louisiana. Based on preliminary assessments, the damages to navigation projects in the Texas Gulf region as a result of Hurricane Ike and other storms in 2008 could be more than $1 billion. PHA regrets the impact that the hurricane has had on the Port of Galveston and our prayers are with our colleagues and their families. PHA was asked by Carnival Cruise Lines to receive cruise ships at the new Bayport Cruise Terminal since Galveston's Cruise Terminal is not operable at this time. It was PHA's goal to accommodate Carnival Cruise Lines to keep the cruise business in the Texas region operating. Moreover, the PHA is happy to be able to return passengers who are on cruises for disembarkation in Houston on Thursday, Sept. 18, and Friday, Sept. 19. For now, PHA will be operating Carnival's Conquest and Ecstasy cruise ships on Saturday, Sept. 20, and Sunday, Sept. 21. For more information, please go to the PHA Web site, www.portofhouston.com, or Carnival Cruise Lines' Web site, www.carnival.com. The port authority will continue to update its status on the PHA web sites at www.phastatus.com or www.portofhouston.com. About The Port of Houston Authority The Port of Houston Authority owns and operates the public facilities located along the Port of Houston, the 25-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities designed for handling general cargo, containers, grain and other dry bulk materials, project and heavy lift cargo, and other types of cargo. Each year, more than 7,700 vessels call at the port, which ranks first in the U.S. in foreign waterborne tonnage and second in overall total tonnage. The port authority plays a vital role in ensuring navigational safety along the Houston Ship Channel, which has been instrumental in Houston's development as a center of international trade. The Barbours Cut Container Terminal and Central Maintenance Facility are the first of any U.S. port facilities to develop and implement an innovative Environmental Management System that meets the rigorous standards of ISO 14001. PHA is the first port authority in the world to receive ISO 28000:2007 certification for Port Police and the perimeter security operations at both the Barbours Cut and Bayport Terminals. Additionally, the port is an approved delivery point for Coffee "C" futures contracts traded on the New York Board of Trade's Coffee, Sugar & Cocoa Exchange. For more information, please visit www.portofhouston.com To access the port's web site photo gallery, please visit http://www.portofhouston.com/publicrelations/publicrelations.html and click the link for PHA Photo Gallery. The Port of Houston Authority logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=720 The Port of Galveston logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=3625
CONTACT: The Port of Houston Authority
Lisa Ashley-Whitlock, Communications Manager
(713) 670-2644
Cell: (832) 247-8179
lwhitlock@poha.com
Argentina M. James, Director of Public Affairs
(713) 670-2568
Cell: (713) 306-6822
ajames@poha.com
Port of Houston Authority Copyright 2003 Port of Houston Authority • All Rights Reserved |
