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.”

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Caption: Neopanamax cranes at Bayport. Three additional cranes are expected to be operational in 2021.

A contract for three new Neopanamax electric cranes for the Bayport Container Terminal was approved Sept. 24 by the Port Commission of the Port of Houston Authority. The $35 million dockside cranes are for Bayport’s Wharf No. 5.

The three new ship-to-shore cranes are expected to be operational in the summer of 2021 and
will be the tallest to date for Port Houston, standing at 158 feet (48 meters) under the spreader
and will be capable of handling 18,000 TEU-sized container ships. The three cranes will bring Port
Houston’s fleet of ship-to-shore cranes to 29.

“Operationally, our facilities have handled close to 30 million tons of cargo through August, an
increase of 7 percent over last year as both container volumes and steel have maintained their
upward trends in 2019,” Executive Director Roger Guenther said during the Port Commission’s
September meeting.

The number of twenty-foot equivalent units or container TEUs handled through August totaled nearly two million, an increase of 11 percent compared to this time last year. Guenther said that he expects to approach three million by the end of the year. Financially, operating revenues stand at $260 million year-to-date, combined with favorable cash flow.

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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.

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Port Houston's three new Neopanamax cranes completed their nearly 90-day journey from Shanghai, China arriving to Port Houston’s Bayport Container Terminal August 7. The cranes highlight about $100 million in investments.

These three container cranes, standing more than 25 stories tall, sailed to the port’s facility with booms raised onboard a large specialized heavy load carrier vessel, the Zhen Hua 27. They are the largest ship-to-shore cranes in Texas, standing about 270 feet tall with a boom length of 211 feet. They will be able to load and unload vessels up to 22 containers wide.

One of the cranes is equipped with the technology to remotely operate the crane from a computer in an office setting rather than in the cab of the crane itself. These new cranes are yet another step to ensure Port Houston is ready for the growth and opportunities of the future.

Five rubber-tired gantry yard cranes (RTGs) were also delivered on Aug. 8, with five more expected to arrive in September. These cranes will support the current and projected growth in the container business at the facility and improve the vessel productivity and truck turnaround times.

The new assets at Bayport will increase cargo-handling efficiency, capacity as well as support the port’s infrastructure.

This will bring a total number of 26 ship-to-shore cranes at Port Houston’s container terminals, 13 of which are Neopanamax.

Port Houston handles nearly 70 percent of container cargo transported through the Gulf.

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The West Gulf Maritime Association and Port Houston held an unveiling ceremony for two new crane simulators July 26.

The simulator equipment will support the workforce and train operators in the trade, giving them real-time experience moving and loading shipping containers and offer a place to practice operations.

The simulators are an educational and business contribution developed from a partnership of members of the local maritime community.

Designed by GlobalSim, a company that specializes in simulation, the premium level simulators are configured with a 3 DOF motion base and offer high fidelity training with authentic controls, a student database and an instructor station.

“This project is a symbol of our partnership for progress,” said Shareen Larmond, president of West Gulf Maritime Association.

Port Commissioner Clyde Fitzgerald and Port Houston Executive Roger Guenther also commended the teamwork. 

The simulators are expected to help the port continue to expand its container business. Port Houston handled nearly 2.5 million TEUs in 2017.

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Port Houston and Industrial Cranes Services, Inc. performed a “crane swap” at the Barbours Cut Container Terminal to regroup the remaining old generation ship-to-shore cranes March 11. This will provide better customer service for vessel calls and prepare the facility for the next phase of wharf renovation.

“We are in the process of reshuffling our older cranes to better service vessels as we prepare for the next phase of dock reconstruction at the terminal,” said Ryan Mariacher, Port Houston director of container terminals. ”ICS was contracted to assist with the project.”

The Barbours Cut Container Terminal received three new cranes in October 2017. A new set of ship-to-shore cranes are expected to arrive at the Bayport Container Terminal later this year.

Port Houston has a $275 million capital improvement plan for 2018. Those funds will be used for facility improvements and expansion at the Bayport and Barbours Cut Terminals. Some of these projects include increasing container yard capacity, wharf expansions and the additional super post-Panamax ship-to-shore cranes.

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