Page 30: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (February 16, 2026)

cover feature

Port of Corpus Christi “Other than the actual opening of the port 100 years ago, the ship channel improvement project is the biggest and most important thing we’ve ever done here. It’s a $600 million project cost shared between us and the federal government that took the depth (of the main ship channel) from 47 feet to 54 feet, and widened it from 400 to 530 feet. Customers can now fully load SuezMax ships, and can more fully load VLCCs. That is a tremendous benefit for our crude oil moving customers.”

Kent Britton, CEO of the Port of Corpus Christi speaking at the Ship Channel Completion Event.

Britton’s “behind the numbers” explanation is rooted in the project is the kind of infrastructure work that’s easy to sum- post-2015 U.S. crude export era: the export ban was lifted, marize and hard to execute: shale production expanded, and pipelines converged on Cor- • Depth increased from 47 feet to 54 feet (MLLW) pus Christi. That surge matured into the 2019–2020 period • Width expanded from 400 feet to 530 feet when major crude pipelines arrived and positioned the gate- • Barge shelves added for safety and traf