Page 89: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2018)

is real precedent for what might come grants and assistance and the tenacity to room to expand. In places like China,

The Author next, how that gets done, and why it come back even better were all driving however, when space becomes an issue,

Joseph Keefe is a 1980 (Deck) graduate probably will. And, those who doubt forces in Gulfport. they typically just bulldoze whatever of the Massachusetts Maritime Acade- that eventuality only need to look down Today, McDermott International is was next door. And, there won’t be an my and the editor of both Maritime Lo- the coastline to the port of Gulfport, locating pipeline-? nishing operations EIA to delay the process.

gistics Professional and MarineNews.

Mississippi for guidance. That’s be- on the East Pier of the port. The new Circling back to ESG’s sprawling cause until Hurricane Katrina crushed shipyard operated by Topship, a unit of two-yard complex, space is one thing the port and coastline with 125 mph Edison Chouest Offshore, builds ser- that there’s no shortage of. With real es- winds and the force of a 25-foot storm vice and supply vessels for the oil and tate to spare – a good chunk of which surge in 2005, the Port of Gulfport, gas industry. Gulfport is back, without a hasn’t yet been developed – Eastern’s

Mississippi was, in the words of MLPro doubt, it is back better than ever. MLPro pre-storm ef? ciency stemmed in part contributor Rick Eyerdam, “a dynamic readers can ? nd out how and why, by from this reality. Indeed, and when they force, importing Chiquita bananas and clicking HERE to read Rick Eyerdam’s bid for the USCG’s OPC, a key part of

Money

Dole fruit from Central America and ? ne account of this port’s success story, that quest involved the claim that they’d exporting wood products, and Tyson which ? rst appeared in our September/ have no issue whatsoever in providing frozen chicken parts to Russia.” October edition of Maritime Logistics the necessary separation for the OPC well

Arguably, the situation in both the Professional magazine. from their many other commercial proj- port and the city of Gulfport – then with ects.

a population of about 72,000 – was just Real Estate & ESG’s Road Ahead With regard to the recovery and re- as bad, and in some respects worse than Having visited both of Eastern’s ship- building process, that same real estate spent what recently occurred in the Florida building facilities in the not-too-distant will provide the necessary staging ar-

Panhandle. In Gulfport, the bad luck past, I have a unique perspective on eas for the repairs and new buildings to that began with Katrina cascaded with what’s likely to come next. For start- come and allows the yard to continue

Investing in TM Master the subsequent arrival of Hurricanes ers, one factor that will probably propel operations as it recovers – something will save you time

Gustav and Isaac and the BP oil spill in this recovery more quickly to its inevi- that’s already underway. Of course, I 2010. table conclusion is the same reality that can’t claim to be The shipbuilding sub- and money.

The aftermath was simply staggering: helped to make the ? rm’s Florida busi- ject matter expert, but I know a well-run the casino was leveled, the recreational ness a success to begin with. And, that, yard when I see it. At ESG, that stan-

Contact us, and we and commercial ports were destroyed in a word, is: real estate. dard is unlikely to change.

will tell you how.

and most businesses near the coast were The highly successful Korean Ship- erased. The Port of Gulfport was in building model of series-build produc- Road to Recovery equally bad shape. tion depends on many things, but the Meanwhile, the work continues on

Approximately 430,000 square feet lynchpin of what makes it really work the Panhandle; in the yard, outside the ®

TM Master of waterfront warehouses and freezer arguably boils down to what boatbuild- gates rebuilding homes, lives and re- facilities were completely destroyed by ers refer to as “lay down” space. Fred storing local infrastructure. Through it • 2))6&+1"$/1"!?""1*+$"*"+1

Hurricane Katrina. The one container Harris of NASSCO fame (and other all, ESG has importantly taken care of • Tailored to your needs gantry crane, the bulk vessel loader, yards) worshiped the template to the its most precious asset: the employees • Best-in-class user interface banana conveyer system and support point where an entire conference table who make it all possible.

• Rapid deployment buildings were lost. The wharf area on in his San Diego of? ces was dedicated “We are grateful to our partners and the West Pier was severely damaged to a step-by-step visual of how it was the maritime business community as a and unusable including approximately done. Harris, in his heyday, had few whole for their support and con? dence + 2,100 linear feet of berthing area and peers when it came to series-build ef- during the aftermath of this historic 420,000 square feet of wharf deck. The ? ciencies, even in the space constrained storm. Seeing our incredible employees

New features: task ahead to rebuild was daunting, and con? nes of NASSCO. Those basic con- get back to building ships last week was

Docking phase-3, Forecasting, to many, it looked impossible. cepts are no less valid today. an inspiration,” said D’Isernia. “While

Failure reporting, Inspections - and more!

Nevertheless, the port, one-by-one, In a nutshell, “lay-down” space allows there is no doubt that the effects of retained tenants and attracted others as builders to more ef? ciently position the Hurricane Michael will linger with our it rebuilt. These include Chiquita, Dole equipment, steel and tools necessary for community for years to come, I can say

Food Company, Crowley Maritime, assembly. Without it, the process be- without reservation that we are open for

Chemours, McDermott International, comes cumbersome and time is wasted business and excited about delivering “Never fails to impress”

Inc., Topship, LLC, and The University on last minute positioning of the neces- quality vessels to our loyal customers.” 2)#?0%,/" of Southern Mississippi. The Port also sary materials during the manufacturing I’m con? dent that they will succeed. has one non-maritime tenant, the rebuilt process. It can be a problem for U.S. That’s because, and while there are very “Best product on the market”

Island View Casino Resort. The com- yards, especially those situated in urban few sure bets in life, this one is as close

Knutsen OAS Tankers bination of local sweat equity, federal areas where sadly there just isn’t any as it gets.

Florida Gulf Coast-based Eastern Shipbuilding Group has resumed operations at both of its two main shipbuilding facilities just two weeks after Hurricane Michael devastated www.teromarine.com

Panama City Florida and the surrounding communities. www.marinelink.com 89

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