b'52American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comPort of New Orleans moving ahead building new markets and infrastructureTwenty years after Katrina the Port of New Orleans through resilience and diversity is thriving and even with todays challenges is looking to new mar-kets for future growth.By Chris Barnett, AJOT New Orleans, built on a bend in the Mis- cal to move in containers, so we can ship it sissippi River in 1718 to protect it from hur- breakbulk when market demands shift. Thomas Bek, CEO for Blue Water Shipping in center of groupricanes, then lost half its population overnight 20yearsagolastmonthwhenKatrinatoreb ranCht akes theh elM Blue Water Shipping names throughthecity,passionatelycelebratesitsPortNOLAseemstohaveanedgyper-diverse residents, visitors, music, food, drinksonality that mirrors its city. In the heavily malenew CEOand heritage here all day and night. dominated,tradition-boundmaritimebusiness, ButoveratthePortofNewOrleans,it has many industry-seasoned women in leader- By Luke King, AJOTfounded that same year by the same French- ship positions. Coates, who has been on board for Canadian explorer Jean Baptiste Le Moyre deseven years heading cargo development and whoDanishtransportandture,hesaid,acknowledg-Bienvillestaff officials are cheering a 2025previously spent 15 years here in senior opera- logisticsgroupBlueWatering current market turbulence first half in cargo growth and trade activity. tional posts with Mediterranean Shipping Co., theShippinghasappointedarequires readiness to act and worlds largest ocean carrier by capacity, reports29-yearcompanyveteranreactinboththeshortand r esilienCe andd iversity to Beth Ann Branch, Port NOLAs president andasCEO,whilerecruitinglong term.And for the same reasonsresilience andchiefexecutiveofficerandCEOoftheNewaformerDHLGlobalFor- Foleysappointmentsig-diversity. Orleans Public Belt Railroad (NOPB).warding executive to lead itsnals Blue Waters commitment I think the biggest thing that makes usAfteranationwidesearch,Branchwasglobal projects expansion. toexpandingprojectlogis-stand out is our diverse trade lanes and option- recruited last year from the Alabama Port Author- ThomasBektakesoverticscapabilitiesinternationally. alityoftransportmodes,AmandaCoates,ity in Mobile where she was chief commercialas CEO from Sren NrgaardHis arrivalfollowsadecade vice president of cargo devel- officer.Earlier,sheledbusinessThomsen, who led the com- ofsignificantgrowthinthe opmentforthePortofNewdevelopmentandinternationalpany for seven years. Mean- companys project activities.Orleans, (Port NOLA), told themarketing for the Port of Oaklandwhile, Ryan Foley, formerlyAtDHL,Foleyover-AmericanJournalofTrans- and held top posts at Maersk forCEOofIndustrialProjectssawmajorturnkeyprojects portation in an exclusive inter- 18 years in New York and at itsatDHLGlobalForwarding,and developed energy-sector view.WeareevenlysplitCopenhagen headquarters. Janinejoins as senior vice presidentlogistics infrastructure world-globally between Latin Amer- Mansour, director of trade devel- of projects in January 2026. wide.Hisexperiencespans ica, Europe and Asia. Whereasopment, also widely regarded asBeks appointment repre- complexindustriallogistics some of the other ports are verythefaceofPortNOLA,bringssents continuity for the Esb- across multiple continents.dependentontheAsiatradeconsiderableexpertiseandajerg-based company. StartingBlue Waters reputation suchasAsiainboundcargo,15-year tenure at the port. Plus,as a freight forwarding traineefor tailored, safe and scalable for example. Were not. We arePort NOLA has women in seniornearly three decades ago, heprojectlogisticsalignsper-agile and more diverse. We canpositions as general manager ofmost recently served as COOfectlywithmybackground pivotwhenmarketsareshift- Amanda Coates, VP of cargothe NOPB short line railroad andof Blue Waters Energy, Portsin global industrial forward-ing,sayfrompeakseasontodevelopment for Port NOLA chief strategy officer, chief of staff& Projects Division. ingandprojectexecution, non-peak season. and external affairs, vice president of people andThomas Bek has a deepFoley said.Indeed, the city that was 80% underwaterchief of public safety and emergency manage- understanding of and knowl- Based in London, he will in 2005, boasts a port today that has connectedment officer. edgeabouttheentireBluecoordinate with Blue Waters Louisiana producers with fast growing inter- Water business: commercially,globalhubsacrossEurope, national markets and expedites global importsn ewt rade : l atina MeriCa andM exiCo operationally and financially,Oceania, Asia, the Americas, throughout the US, not just the Gulf Coast. Coates, who sounds more like a head coachsaidchairmanJrgenWis- andtheMiddleEast/Africa, At a time of worldwide uncertainty, Portthan a cargo promotional strategist, claims ourborg.Theboarddeterminedaligningregionalproject NOLAsgrowthissteady.Inthefirstsixteam is driven by passion and strengthened byadifferentleadershipprofileteams following recent reor-months of this year, total container volume wasexceptional talent, creating a dynamic founda- was needed for Blue Watersganization of the Energy, Port 263,961 TEUs, up 2 percent over last yearstion for meaningful results and long-term indus- next strategic phase. and Projects division.first half and a 9 percent gain over the last sixtry partnerships. Our job is to engage with theUnderThomsen,BlueStrategically,wehave months of 2024. portsvariousstakeholders,createsynergiesWaternearlydoubleditsstrongambitionsandcom-Tradetrendsaremoredramatic,noteswhere they dont naturally happen, foster thoseturnoverwhileexpandingmitment to strengthen further Coates.Organic chemical imports through therelationships and make sure everyone is rowingto2,700employeesacrossourfootprintintheproject port have jumped 70% led by Mexico. Asianin the same direction.A mantra that I oftennearly80officesglobally.logisticsmarket,Beksaid. copperimportshavegrownfivefold.Singa- reflect on is find a way or make one. The outgoing executive saidOur focus remains on deliv-pores import growth through Port NOLA is up Specifically, Port NOLA is selling its geo- it was a pleasure to be a parteringtop-classserviceand 400%, followed by Malaysia at 112%, Chilegraphic proximity and multimodal options toof Blue Water and that thequality to our clients.up 66% and Mexico increasing by 24%. importers and is currently zeroing in on Mexicocompany is stronger todayTheleadershipchanges Theportsleadingexportdestinations,and Latin America. Coates says shippers souththan seven years ago. are designed to position Blue measured by TEUs, she continues, are Vietnamof the border have a 48-hour transit time fromBekemphasizedmain- Water to pursue larger, more at 155%, Turkey at 40% and Brazil at 35%.Mexico to Chicagotwo days on the watertainingcompanyculturecomplexinternationalproj-Overall,theporthasa70/30export-importand two days inland with a very short dwellwhile pursuing growth. I seeectsduringwhattheycall trade balance split and is aiming for 50/50. on the docks. it as one of my most impor- aperiodofsupplychain PortNOLAboastsfiveLatinAmericantanttaskstomaintainandtransformationandevolving g rowths trategy weeklydirectcontainerserviceswhich,shedevelopthevaluesandcul- customer demands.Coates contends that Port NOLAs growthsays, sets it apart from ports to the East of them strategy is powered by an emphasis on deliver- in the Gulf. The five services include two East ing a reliable and efficient gateway in terms ofCoastSouthAmerica,twoCentralAmerica(REACHcontinued fromthe initial founding of the city vessel schedules and inland connectivity withand one feeder offering global connectivity viapage 50) of Charleston in 1670 was to multimodaloptions.schedulingwhichhasCartagena.Insists Coates: It has a very highoperations,andallactivitiestakeadvantageofitsnatural strengtheneditsrelationshipwithcustom- performance in terms of reliability. associatedwithSCPorts,seaport to facilitate the export ers plus our multimodal options.We are thegenerate a nearly $87 billionof cotton.strongest intermodal port on the Gulf Coast; wei nfrastruCturei MProveMents economicimpactonSouthAccordingtotheSouth were the seventh largest in the US in 2023 At a time when many municipalities andCarolinaeachyear.ThisCarolina Ports website, The and we are working to grow both.Right now,institutionsaredelayingorcuttingcapitalfigure reflects the dollar valueports are an economic engine 8 percent of our overall TEU volume is inter- expenditures or facing the uncertainties of fed- of all final goods and servicesforSouthCarolina,driving modal and our goal is 16 to 20 %. This giveseral funding or losing it entirely, Port NOLA isin South Carolina that can bebusinessgrowthandinvest-shippers the optionalitycontainer to railcar,pushing ahead to further boost cargo volumesattributedtoSouthCarolinament. Asnewjobsarecre-for example, or container to bargethey mayandstimulatetrade.CoatessaysfournewPorts. ated,thiseconomicimpact not have from other ports. gantry cranes have been installed at the Con- The ports of South Caro- can be felt in our communi-Remember,shecontinues,ourindustrytainer Terminal and are operational.A $27 mil- lina have been one of the statestiesaspeoplebuyhomes, has been faced with constant uncertainty inlion concrete paving project has been completedmost important resources forspendatlocalstores,and the last five years. We offer adaptability forat Nashville Avenues yard which significantlyhundredsofyears.Infact,buildstrongfoundationsfor containerized cargo that may not be economi- (MOVINGcontinued on page 53) one of the primary reasons fortheir families.'