Caption: Containers being unloaded from vessel to the Bayport and Barbours Cut Container Terminals.

What Can You Do With a Container?

We have grown accustomed to seeing these TEUs on the road, behind a truck as they are whisked away to their next destination, but they can actually be transformed and utilized in many different ways. This begs the question, What can you do with a container?

In Houston, you may see them around the city, integrated in the design of businesses, thus giving the container a second life. Local bars like Truck Yard in East Downtown area or 8th Wonder Brewery use them. Closer to the East End, a historic community near Houston’s port you can find them at various places, ranging from use as murals, to screen movies, or retail.

On average, a container’s lifespan for transportation of goods can range from 10 to 12 years before it is taken out of service. However, a container can very well last up to 50 years depending on its use and ongoing maintenance to avoid rust, a typical culprit in its deterioration.

Places to visit in Houston

Ironworks Building

Caption: Front of Ironworks Building in historic East End Houston

Captions: (Left and center photos) The Ironworks building houses various businesses ranging from vintage apparel, coffee, law group, tattoo artist, plant shop, and more using containers inside the warehouse space. (Right most photo) Here is the Cargo vintage shop with a tenant picking out some clothing.

“After researching the various uses of containers, I found that many were repurposed into homes so I decided to develop a different concept of designing them as creative workspaces. When I started developing my vision for IRONWORKS, I knew this would fit with the industrial look I wanted to capture in the space,” noted Andrew Kaldis, owner of Ironworks and Kaldis Development.

Caption: photo of container door used as table in the Ironworks Building conference room.

“I was able to establish a relationship with the right fabricator to alter the containers per my design. My hope for the building is that it continues to be a landmark for the area. It is very rewarding to contribute to a neighborhood and see it flourish,” noted Kaldis.

East ENd River Mural

Caption: David Maldonado, a local Houston artist devotes his time to create murals and other pieces of art that represent the city. Mural agency Muros hired Maldonado to complete the East End River Mural on Clinton Drive using containers as the canvas.

“My great grandfather and grandfather worked as longshoremen. To this day, my father and many family members continue to work as longshoremen as well. I feel proud and honored when I get to do a project with historical background,” said Maldonado.

Caption: David Maldonado puts the finishing touches on the East End River Mural displaying elements of Houston including NASA, the Port of Houston, nature and city scape.

“Art has a way of building bridges in the community and public art is a great way of doing that. This [East River Mural] is the first time I’ve worked with shipping containers, and I would use them for future projects. I think it’s great when things are repurposed and used in other ways.”

Moonstruck Drive In Cinema

Caption: Moonstruck Drive In is a new addition to the East End, the drive in utilizes stacked containers to screen movies outdoors. Families can watch old-time movies up to the most recent releases from the comfort of their cars.

Moon Tower Inn

Caption: Moon Tower Inn is an American restaurant specializing in game-meat and hotdogs along with a variety of beer for an outdoor pub feel. The bar area is housed in a container.

The post The After Life of a Container appeared first on Port Houston.

July was a busy month for Port Houston’s Bayport Container Terminal. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers renewed our Bayport permit and the Port Commission approved a nearly $37 million contract to purchase three new dockside electric container cranes for Wharf No. 6 at Bayport, which is currently under construction. Additionally, we received a shipment of five new hybrid rubber-tired gantry cranes and another four are expected to arrive in late August.

With these vital additions, we can continue the master plan of expanding the Bayport container terminal as well as other facilities and properties outside Bayport for the next five years to meet consumer and carriers’ needs. Construction has already begun with building out Wharf No. 6, Container Yard 2, and other properties at Bayport.

This improvement is part of the larger strategic plan to optimize infrastructure and Houston Ship Channel capacity to better serve the region. By 2040, Port Houston plans to add more berths to the Bayport container terminal, bringing the total to as many as nine berths and a capacity to handle more than 4 million TEUs. By that time, there will be 21 dockside electric container cranes and 84 rubber-tired gantry cranes working at the Bayport facility.

In addition to building infrastructure, Port Houston is focused on efficiency, understanding the value of moving goods quickly through our gates and to consumers. Plans include increased transloading ability, warehousing capabilities, and the addition of an intermodal rail yard adjacent to the Bayport container terminal complex. Plus, continued use of innovative technology will improve terminal efficiency and maximize Port Houston’s supply chain visibility and world-class logistics support. In total, $1.4 billion in capital investments are planned over the next 5 years and potential $4 plus billion over 20 years to enhance Port Houston’s facilities and the waterway.

The post Bayport Infrastructure Improvements: Large Growth on our Minds appeared first on Port Houston.

Caption: Quintin Reynolds

It takes a lot of hands to move cargo across Port Houston’s docks, including the maintenance staff, who support Port Houston’s equipment and assets. One of the essential Port employees working on the front lines throughout the COVID-19 pandemic is Quintin Reynolds, a maintenance foreman at the Barbours Cut Container Terminal, who recently received recognition for 45 years of service at Port Houston.

Reynolds and his department is responsible for maintaining daily equipment readiness for 15 ship-to-shore (STS) cranes at the facility. These cranes are some of the Port’s critical operational assets and are the primary maritime industry equipment for loading and unloading containers. The job can be challenging – the number one goal of the maintenance department is to keep downtime at the terminal to a minimum. In this high tempo work environment, Port Houston strives to maintain a 15-minute repair rate and 99 percent crane uptime.

It’s a job Reynolds takes seriously. “Being an essential employee during these unprecedented times is an honor. Maintenance plays a vital role in operations at Port Houston to keep our supply chains moving,” said Reynolds.

In his 45 years of experience working for Port Houston, he’s never experienced a world-wide situation like COVID-19, he noted. “It’s a severe concern, and Port Houston has quickly mitigated the potential issues and allowed for business to continue under these circumstances,” said Reynolds. “I’m proud to be a part of this team and contribute to the greater community that relies on us.”

Reynolds joined the Port in 1975 as a laborer assigned to the Public Grain Elevator and advanced up the ladder quickly in the maintenance department to become a millwright. After 17 years at the Turning Basin terminal, he moved to the Barbours Cut Container Terminal and has been there ever since. During his career at Port Houston, Reynolds has participated in 13 container crane inspection trips to Asia, where the equipment is built. He has had the opportunity to see the cranes constructed, from the time they were pieces of steel plate to when they became finished products and were loaded for transport to Houston.

His son Bodie is also a foreman in the maintenance department at the Barbours Cut Container Terminal. “It is a father’s dream to watch my son evolve into a position that most aspire and do not obtain until several years of service,” said Reynolds. “It’s exciting to see my son follow in my footsteps.”

Reynolds was recognized at the January Port Commission meeting by Executive Director Roger Guenther and the Port Commission for his years of dedicated service. “I enjoy my work because it is not a routine job and no two days are the same,” he said. “Being a Port Houston employee means a lot to me. My job at the Port has given me a good income to provide for my family. Serving the Port for 45 years is by far one of my greatest achievements in my lifetime.”

The post Keeping the Cranes Running: Port Houston Maintenance Veteran and Essential Worker Recognized for 45 Years of Service appeared first on Port Houston.

Container activity at Port Houston, the largest container port on the United States Gulf Coast, began slowing in late March as expected due to the coronavirus pandemic, but was still up for the first quarter of 2020..

Port Houston handled a total of 248,280 twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEUs) in March, a drop of 11 percent compared to March of 2019, when 280,721 TEUs were recorded.  However, for the full year, Port Houston handled 773,087 TEUs through March, compared to 694,167 TEUs for the same period last year. That marks an increase of 11 percent for the first quarter. 

The latest data from PIERS shows that while the U.S. container trade overall has contracted by more than 5 percent year-to-date, Port Houston has expanded by a similar amount. Nevertheless, in March Port Houston saw a total of seven blank sailings.

Port Houston’s Bayport and Barbours Cut container terminals are important to the local, state and national economies as well as the supply chain, Executive Director Roger Guenther noted. Cargo moving across our docks reaches some 100 million residents as well as exporters and manufacturers throughout America’s heartland.

“We must remain open for business to help international commerce continue during this difficult period,” Guenther said. “We also must support the economy with the necessary infrastructure to rebound when this global pandemic is brought under control.”

The post Port Houston Container Volumes Slowing, But Remain Steady appeared first on Port Houston.

Caption: Busy truck gates at Bayport Container Terminal.

Port Houston’s Bayport and Barbours Cut container terminals combined handled more than 11,000 gate moves in one day for the first time ever Aug. 28. Service levels included sub-60-minute dual transaction turn times.

“These numbers were not possible years ago,” Randall Morris, vice president of operations for Canal Cartage Company wrote on LinkedIn. The port has made investments in its assets by strategically planning for capital project improvements at its facilities.

This efficiency milestone follows the recent approval for a truck gate expansion at the Barbours Cut Terminal. The project consists of about 23 acres of new pavement at the existing Barbours Cut Terminal. Major components of work include the demolition of existing pavement and structures, new pavement, additional truck gate lanes and the construction of two new buildings and underground utilities.

Port Houston handles nearly 70 percent of all containers that move through the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, and volume is growing rapidly due to surging demand for imports and a robust export base driven by petrochemical and resin markets.

The post Record Gate Moves at Port Houston Container Terminals appeared first on Port Houston.

The Spirit of Melbourne called at Port Houston’s Bayport Container Terminal.

Port Houston received the maiden voyage and is the only U.S. port of call for a new direct service that global ocean carrier CMA CGM launched in July with Marfret. The MedCaribe service will connect the U.S. Gulf, Mexico, Central America (Costa Rica), the Caribbean and the Mediterranean markets. The first vessel, the Spirit of Melbourne, called the port’s Bayport Container Terminal July 15.

The rotation includes: Houston; Veracruz, Mexico; Manzanillo, Panama; Moin, Costa Rica; Algeciras, Spain; Malta; Livorno, Italy; Genoa, Italy; Marseilles, France; Barcelona, Spain and Valencia, Spain.

“Port Houston is excited to add this new service to our ever-growing global portfolio and looks forward to the positive economic developments that these markets will bring to Houston and the region,” said Port Houston Trade Development Director Dominic Sun.

The post Port Secures New CMA CGM/Marfret MedCaribe Service appeared first on Port Houston.

Port Commissioners gather at July public meeting.

The planned expansion of the truck gate at Port Houston’s Barbours Cut Container Terminal is set
to begin after approval of a contract for the work by the Port Commission.

The project consists of about 23 acres of new pavement at the existing Barbours Cut Terminal.
Major components of work include demolition of existing pavement and structures, new
pavement, construction of two new building and new electrical, drainage and utilities.

The Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority awarded a contract not to exceed $39.7
million to Archer Western Construction, the top-ranked proposer among four finalists. A total of 53
companies downloaded materials about the project.

Container volume overall at Port Houston continues to break records, up 12 percent for the year
compared to last year, Executive Director Roger Guenther told the Port Commission during its
meeting. Port Houston facilities have handled nearly 1.5 Million TEUs through the first half of 2019.

The post Port Houston Sets Records on Container and Steel Volumes; Moves Forward on Expansions appeared first on Port Houston.

Caption: Port Houston container terminal truck gates.

Port Houston recently executed a successful technology upgrade to NAVIS N4, a terminal operating system that optimizes planning and management of container and equipment moves at the port’s container terminals. The system is used for daily operations that include road, vessel, yard planning, billing and reporting.

Port Houston upgraded from version N4 2.6.34 to version N4 3.6.9, which required new infrastructure. The upgrade was performed by Port Houston’s technology, operations and IT personnel over a weekend after months of preparation and testing. With this advancement, Port Houston aims to improve and maintain a competitive edge consistently with business and technology innovations.

“The project’s success was a collaboration of efforts put forth by multiple departments,” said Port Houston Terminal Operating Systems Manager Mayra Ruiz. “The NAVIS upgrade will allow us to capitalize on new technologies and industry development.”

The upgrade embodies Port Houston’s goal of becoming America’s distribution hub for the next generation by providing increased support and scalability for customers. Further, the program adds improved security and operational performance with new features and functions.

Port Houston will continue to take the necessary steps to equip the business for the future and provide value-added services to our clients as upgrades are continued throughout the organization.

The post Port Houston Successfully Completes NAVIS N4 Upgrade appeared first on Port Houston.

Caption: RTG cranes transiting the Houston Ship Channel in 2018.

The Port Commission in June awarded a contract for nine new diesel electric container yard cranes for Port Houston’s Bayport Container Terminal.

The yard cranes are needed for the facility to support projected growth in import and export volume growth and maintain the highest levels of service to industry partners, including vessel productivity and truck turn times. The cranes are powered by hybrid drives with battery packs charged by a small diesel engine and are equipped with the latest technology in the container shipping industry.

The contract for the equipment was awarded to Konecranes Finland Corp., which was selected after the request for proposals process was completed. The cranes will provide support to the 50-acre expansion of Container Yard 7. Construction is ongoing and scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2020. Opened in 2007, the Bayport terminal is about 60 percent complete.

While construction to expand Bayport continues, Port Houston’s additional container terminal, Barbours Cut, continues to be modernized. A $287 million capital plan for 2019 is primarily focused on container yard and wharf renovation.

The post Contract Awarded for Nine New Yard Cranes at Bayport appeared first on Port Houston.

Caption: Port Houston Executive Director Roger Guenther

Hundreds of maritime professionals attended the fourth annual JOC Gulf Shipping Conference held at the Marriott Marquis Hotel downtown May 20-22. The event was hosted by Port Houston and organized by the Journal of Commerce and parent company IHS Markit.

The panelists discussed shipping trends and the efficiency and importance of commerce moving through U.S. Gulf ports. The event provided an in-depth look at the latest topics, challenges and solutions emerging for cargo owners importing and exporting through the Gulf.

“The significant industry activity on the Gulf Coast presents opportunities for the continued growth of international trade and business,” said Roger Guenther, Port Houston’s executive director. Guenther participated in the program during a session about the Houston Ship Channel’s growth, challenges and opportunities. “We were pleased to sponsor this event that featured dynamic discussions of of interest, including petrochemical plastic resins, container shipping, inland transportation and cargo visibility.”

Guenther also noted that the Houston Ship Channel remains the number one priority for Port Houston, which continues to make significant infrastructure investments at its facilities. Houston is the epicenter of massive energy and petrochemical manufacturing investments that are resulting in more jobs across the nation, increased energy security and increased exports.

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