A look around the Crescent River Port Pilots Association’s control room in Belle Chasse tells the tale. With a complexity that rivals an air traffic control tower, video display monitors show dozens of GPS-enabled ships anchored off the mouth of the Mississippi River, waiting in a queue for their turn to enter.
In the river, itself, ships traverse the waterway in an unfathomable, endless procession, 10/12 Industry Report details in its new cover package.
Recent data shows that ship traffic is on the rise in every navigable Louisiana waterway. Port of New Orleans President & CEO Brandy Christian says shipping volumes are “obviously on the increase. It’s not just the number of ships—I think the bigger issue is that we’re seeing larger ships.”
The ripple effects of this surge impact the entire maritime industry, including vessel operators, marine terminals, shipyards and workers engaged in the movement of cargo.
Consequently, ports are scrambling to deliver an infrastructure that can handle the additional load, whether that be through an expansion in capabilities or improvements to intermodal functionality. Read the full story about how Louisiana is trying to catch up.
