The Port of Houston and the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) want to know exactly what cost is incurred when ship traffic in port channels is stymied by a lack of appropriate dredging procedures.
Jim Kruse of TTI, working with the local maritime industry, is conducting a study that is expected to put the spotlight on the impact of draft restrictions. Kruse briefed a Houston meeting of the US Gulf International Commerce Club Feb 11 on the project's progress--and invited members to offer relative input on the subject.
"The more information we have, the better off we are," Kruse said. "We just can't get too much. ...The Port of Houston is leading the way in this effort."
During the question and answer period following Kruse's presentation, Bill Diehl, president of the Commerce Club, president of the Greater Houston Port Bureau and a retired captain in the U.S. Coast Guard, noted the importance of channel conditions.
"Infrastructure is everything," he said, noting that the knowledge of cost, relative to even a foot of impediment, is essential.
Kruse pointed out in his presentation that because of the Houston Ship Channel's current condition, some intense maneuveringis required by certain ships--a turning basin that is too shallow for ships to turn around, and others that require ships to change course and reverse into areas.
The delays can decrease loading and unloading efficiencies that can result in higher labor costs, dockage fees, wait times--and eventual loss of business (particularly for oil and steel traders), he said. Refineries are especially impacted because of their just-in-time raw product delivery requirements.
Kruse also pointed out that any growth for the port, such as expected from the now-underway Panama Canal expansion, will be further felt by logistic inefficiencies.
The first of Kruse's two-part study (gathering data) is almost complete and will be followed by analysis of the results, he said.
To see other maritime reports at TTI, click here for a list.
For more transportation-related studies by TTI, click here for a report on the cost of road traffic congestion published by David Schrank, assistant research scientist with the Mobility Analysis Program.
More coverage on the Houston transportation scene can be found by clicking here for trucking, here for rail, here for maritime and here for pipeline.
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