Company manages variety of operations, cargoBy Peter A. Buxbaum, AJOTOne word comes to mind when surveying Ports America’s operations at Gulf of Mexico ports: diversity. The company operates at eleven ports on the Gulf Coast, manages a variety of operations and handles diverse cargoes. From Tampa to Corpus Christi, Ports America operates container terminals and handles bulk, breakbulk, and ro/ro cargoes. From consumer goods to steel, agricultural products, wind energy equipment, and military cargoes, Ports America handles just about everything, except liquid bulk commodities, in its Gulf Coast operations. “We are fortunate to have a diverse portfolio in the Gulf Coast,” said Frank Fogarty, executive vice president of Ports America, who is based in the company’s headquarters in Iselin, NJ. “We have quite a diverse commodity mix and also a large number of customers.” Ports America was part of P&O Ports until March 2007, when P&O’s North American operations were purchased by AIG. Handling diverse cargoes presents challenges, but also rewards, for Ports America. “It looks like the container business is coming up in the Gulf Coast,” Fogarty said. “We just got into Tampa a little over year a ago, and since then we’ve already seen an uptick in the market.” Fogarty noted also that the ports of New Orleans and Houston are also showing signs of growth in containers. Ro/ro cargo is also picking up along the Gulf Coast, with an array of ports from Tampa to Galveston handling used auto exports to Central America and West Africa. “Bagged commodities are down a little now,” Fogarty continued, “but they will eventually pick up. That is one of the good things about having diverse operations. We can ride through the lean times when some commodities are down because others are up. It keeps things even for us.” In Tampa, Ports America operates a container terminal and its equipment. “We also have an agreement with the Port Authority to operate the breakbulk facility,” Fogarty added. Tampa’s breakbulk operations include an on-dock refrigerated warehouse that handles palletized fruits and vegetables, as well as facilities that handle forest products and automobiles. Fogarty views Tampa as a major growth opportunity for Ports America. “It is a tremendous market with seven million people living within a one-hundred mile radius,” he noted. “Most containers destined for Tampa are coming through other ports, but now we’re seeing more containers moving through that port.” In Gulfport, MS, Ports America performs stevedoring and terminal operations for Chiquita and Crowley containers, totaling about 75,000 units annually. Two shipside freezers operated by Ports America accommodate poultry, poultry parts and other frozen cargoes and account for about 200,000 tons of export cargoes annually. “New Orleans is a much larger operation,” said Fogarty. “We operate a container terminal and also have the leases on breakbulk facilities.” At New Orleans, Ports America operates over two miles of contiguous deepwater berth space at the port’s Nashville Avenue and Napoleon Avenue container terminals, one million square feet of covered shed space, and 400,000 square feet of open wharf. The company also maintains a floating heavy-lift capacity crane and operates the port’s largest indoor warehouse for general cargo. Ports America’s terminal infrastructure includes both waterside and city-side rail tracks. At the Port of Baton Rouge, Ports America has been the port’s primary general cargo stevedore and terminal operator since 1955. Ports America provides its customers with warehousing and transit sheds as well as cargo handling equipment. Ports America is the exclusive freight handler for the port of Lake Charles, LA. Its operations include an automated bagging facility for rice, beans, and flour. “The commodities are bagged, fed onto a conveyor, and out into the automated loaders directly into the ship,” Fogarty explained. The automated facility has a capacity of bagging and loading at