Container-on-barge services have returned to the Port of Greater Baton Rouge, providing the petrochemical industry with another option for moving products. World Direct Shipping has deployed a newly acquired container ship in its cross-Gulf service between Port Manatee and Coatzacoalcos in Mexico. Linea Peninsular has initiated weekly container service between Mexico and Port Tampa Bay.

More than 40 federal, state and local emergency management and law enforcement officials participated in a joint training exercise July 26 in Port Fourchon’s emergency operations center to practice coordinated emergency management in the event of a major hurricane affecting the bayou region.

At its July 25 meeting, the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners authorized the framework for a voluntary $46.4 million program to lessen the impacts of port-related pollution on the community. That is in addition to the $17.4 million the Port of Long Beach has already awarded for community-based environmental mitigation.

Port Saint John has entered into a lease agreement with DP World for the operation of its West Container Terminal.  The lease takes effect January 1, 2017, and will continue for about 30 years following completion of the port’s expansion program Ports America, current operator of Port Tampa Bay Container Terminal, has signed an amended container agreement with the port authority that will be valid through May 2046. In a signing ceremony on July 22, the company also agreed to a new breakbulk concession of five years, which includes two one-year extension options.

The Port of Oakland reports container volumes through June totaled 1,152,608 TEUs, a 6.0 percent increase from first half 2015. The Port of Redwood City reports handling 1,637,682 metric tons in the fiscal year ending June 30.  Down 5.0 percent from FY 2015-16, it was still the port’s third highest volume in the past 10 years.