South Louisiana Dedicates New Finger Pier and Maritime Security Operations Center

The Port of South Louisiana dedicated a new finger pier and maritime security operations center during ceremonies held April 9 at its Globalplex terminal in Reserve, La.

The $19.5 million finger pier, a 700-foot by 65-foot extension of the general cargo dock, was funded in part by a $15 million grant from the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development’s Port Construction and Development Priority Program. The project also included the demolition and reconstruction of the downriver mooring dolphin.

Barges can moor on the inboard side and barges and ships on the outboard side, improving efficiency of ship-to-barge and truck-to-barge operations by allowing simultaneous operations on both sides. The port estimates the pier will handle 47 vessels the first year and 70 annually thereafter.  

The new Maritime Security Operations Center (MSOC), also located within Globalplex Intermodal Terminal, is a 2,000 square-foot hardened concrete and steel structure with impact-resistant glass, built to withstand 150 mile-per-hour winds.  Equipped with the latest in communications and surveillance equipment, it is linked to MSOCs at four other deepwater ports on the lower Mississippi River, as well as federal, state and local emergency response agencies. The $1.2 million project was funded in part by $965,000 in grants from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, with the balance coming from the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development.

The five networked MSOCs give full maritime domain awareness along the river, as described at the South Louisiana dedication ceremony by Capt. Peter Gautier of the U.S. Coast Guard’s New Orleans Sector:

"We have a linked system of communications for the first time, together with sensors that can tell us very early on if we are having an incident on the river. Really what it does is it ups our game in terms of responding faster and better to maritime incidents and to protect the people and the property and the environment of this most important river and in this economically vibrant region,” Gautier said.

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