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Moffatt & Nichol drawing of container terminal with new crane and rubber-tire gantries STEM TO STERN The Monthly Newsletter of the North Carolina State Ports Authority Board approves 4 cranes SEPTEMBER 2005 Big Buy Page 2 Security Moves Forward Page 3 Morehead City: Where Rubber Meets the Road Page 4 Wilmington Containers Keep Setting Records Page 5 part of this most historic time for the North Caro-lina State Ports Authority,” said Board Chair-man Carl J. Stewart Jr. “The crane contract rep-resents the single largest equipment expenditure ever by the Ports Authority.” Voting unanimously in a meeting in Wilming-ton Sept. 16, the Board approved award of a $33.2 million contract for the construction of four new cranes to Zhenhua Port Machinery Co. of Shanghai, China, for delivery in early 2007. The four 100-foot gauge container cranes will join Wilmington’s four existing container cranes as the linchpin of Wilmington’s five-year container terminal expansion program which will double container handling capacity at the Port’s ex-isting facility. “The 100-foot gauge cranes, along with the planned purchase of rubber-tire gan- Continued on page 8 Wilmington container terminal expansion takes big step forward The Port of Wilmington will move its expan-sion program forward with the purchase of four 100-foot gauge container cranes under a con-tract approved by the N.C. State Ports Authori-ty Board of Directors. “It is wonderful to reach this point in our growth plans, and it is a particular joy to me to be a Durwood Garner, left, and Kenneth Eldred of the Port of Morehead City’s Maintenance Department hang the sign for Shipping and Receiving on the Maritime Building, where the department has moved since Hurricane Ophelia flooded the Port Operations Cen-ter building. For more on the impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Ophelia at the Ports, see pages 6 and 7. Photo by Susan Clizbe SEPTEMBER 2005 PAGE 2 www.ncports.com STEM TO STERN MATERIALS MANAGEMENT Ports Improvement Projects Move Forward with Big Purchases by John Robinson Materials Manager, NC State Ports Authority The North Carolina State Ports Authority made history Sept. 16, as our Board of Directors approved a group of purchase contracts totaling more than $35 million. Within the next two years, the North Caroli-na Ports will upgrade container crane operations and container terminal management, update both Ports’ lift trucks, and grow the size of our facil-ities as well, to meet market demands. What a great time to be part of an organization that has embraced growth and market changes, stepped up to the plate, and hit a grand slam. The record-breaking shopping list includes the purchase of four new container cranes, eight new lift trucks for the Port of Morehead City, three new lift trucks for the Port of Wilmington, and steel rails and crossties for the Radio Island de-velopment project. The biggest item on the list, the crane pur-chase follows an in-depth evaluation of bidders which included negotiated sessions in Wilming-ton with each of the finalist bidders. These ses-sions included participation from the Ports Au-thority’s Purchasing, Crane, and Engineering and Development departments. Following the Board meeting, a notice to pro-ceed was issued to Shanghai Zhenhua Port Ma-chinery Co., with the official contract signing set for October. The cranes are to be delivered and commissioned in the first quarter of 2007. The Port of Morehead City’s eight lift trucks include two with a capacity of 15,500 pounds and six with 10,000-lb. capacity, equipped with lumber forks, from Daewoo Heavy Industries ‘What a great time to be part of an organization that has embraced growth and market changes, stepped up to the plate, and hit a grand slam.’ John Robinson Materials Manager Corp. A notice to proceed and purchase order has been issued, with delivery expected by year’s end. The Port of Wilmington has added three 15,500 lb. lift trucks in addition to six already on or-der from Daewoo. Delivery on these is expected by year’s end as well. Materials to upgrade rail access as part of the Radio Island de-velopment project have been ordered. The steel rail and crossties should be delivered in January. Another key part of Wilmington’s con-tainer- terminal ex-pansion is on target. SMV Konecranes of Sweden, the manu-facturer which won the contract to provide nine new reach stack-ers, has provided a manufacturing update. De-livery remains on schedule for three units each in October, November and December. The Ports Authority has been recognized with the 2005 Achievement of Excellence in Procure-ment award. The award is presented annually by the Na-tional Purchasing Institute, the Institute for Sup-ply Management, and the National Institute for Governmental Purchasing. In 2004, only 112 governmental entities, from the municipal to the federal level, received the award - only 100 in 2003. The award is presented for innovation, pro-fessionalism, continuous education and training, and leadership by the procurement organization. The Materials Management Department is proud to accept this award on behalf of our en-tire organization. SEPTEMBER 2005 PAGE 3 www.ncports.com STEM TO STERN NEWS FROM THE PORTS Ports win new security funding as work begins on first major project The North Carolina State Ports Authority will receive four grants worth $336,865 from a $142 million program managed by the U.S. Homeland Security Department. The winners in Round 5 of the Port Security program were announced in early September by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. At the same time, the first work on security system upgrades is under way at the Ports of Wilmington and Morehead City. This award brings the total in Federal port security grants for North Carolina’s Ports to just over $8 million. “We are pleased to be taking these steps to enhance security at our Ports, and greatly ap-preciate the support from Congressman Mike McIntyre and the entire North Carolina Congres-sional delegation,” said Ports Authority CEO Tom Eagar. “With continued Federal support for seaport security, we continue to strengthen the servic-es we provide the state and the nation.” Work began in Sep-tember at both Ports on a comprehensive securi-ty system that integrates fencing, lighting and com-puter- controlled perime-ter monitoring and intru-sion detection with an in-dustry- standard access-control system. The system was de-signed by C.H. Guernsey & Co., an engineering firm that specializes in security, and is based on a security assessment funded by the first round of port security grants. Johnson Controls Inc. is the prime contractor for the system. Federal grant funding covers a significant por-tion of the cost of this project with the Authori-ty’s share about $700,000. “These projects will provide Port Police offic-ers with the equipment they need to do an even better job to protect and guard the docks and vessels,” said Doug Campen, director of Safety and Security for the Ports Authority. Projects funded in the new round of grants include: • $196,560 - improvements to waterside perimeter surveillance • $72,495 - law enforcement patrol boat • $64,611 - underwater intrusion detection/scanning equipment system • $3,545 - communications interoperability equipment that allows the Port Police to more effectively and directly communicate and coordinate emergency operations with military and other law enforcement agencies. Doug Campen, left, and Wilmington Port Police Capt. Donnie Long observe as a worker for Maner Builders Supply Co., the fencing subcontractor, gets to work. Photo by Susan Pridgen SEPTEMBER 2005 PAGE 4 www.ncports.com STEM TO STERN NEWS FROM THE PORTS Morehead City meets the challenge Where the rubber hits the road - Cargo Operations is on the job As the Port of Morehead City’s natu-ral rubber business boomed, filling the gap left by the closure of the Port of New Or-leans by Hurricane Katrina, the bulk of the increased workload fell on the Cargo Operations Department. “We picked up the pace to help the manufacturers keep their plants running, and we’ve been running at that pace for a full month now,” said Debra Winfrey, man-ager of General Cargo Operations at the Port. The Cargo Operations Department’s people have been working overtime to han-dle more than 10,000 extra tons of rubber from the PAC Alkaid and 15,000 from the PAC Acrux - managing warehouses and loading trucks and railcars. In August, the average day saw 51 trucks coming through the gate, with the high day 69. The September day average soared to 88, and on Sept. 23, 146 trucks were loaded and unloaded at the Port. Of 1,372 trucks through Sept. 26, with four days left in the month, 940 carried rubber and 356 carried lum-ber, 46 more than the entire month of August. The rub-ber truck count in August was 219 fewer than Septem-ber so far. “Our cargo team is dedicated and experienced - an excellent team who understand the value of superb cus- See more on pages 6 and 7 Port of Morehead City forklifts load rubber onto one truck for delivery to manufacturers as two others wait for loading. Each aluminum bin is a unit - 1.5 tons of rubber - and each truck carries 15 or 16 units. Photo by Susan Clizbe tomer service, for our lumber and rubber customers alike,” Ms. Winfrey said. “The extra work has fallen mainly to our cargo-han-dling and shipping and receiving staff, and they've been extremely resourceful and flexible. It's their commitment and energy which is allowing us to meet our customers’ special needs at this particularly trying time.” Other departments have also pitched in to help, in-cluding Cranes, Maintenance and Bulk Handling. STEM TO STERN The Monthly Newsletter of the North Carolina State Ports Authority SEPTEMBER 2005 Stem to Stern is an electronic newsletter published each month by the North Carolina State Ports Authority. It is available on the Ports Authority website in Portable Document Format for online reading or printing by the reader: www.ncports.com Editorial content is edited, prepared, and provided by the Communications and Human Resources teams of the Ports Authority. Tom Eagar ................. Chief Executive Officer Karen Fox ............ Communications Director Rick Koch .......... Human Resources Director Susan Clizbe ........ Communications Manager Laura Crowell ................... Human Resources Susan Pridgen ...................... Communications BOARD OF DIRECTORS Carl J. Stewart, Jr., Chair ............. Gastonia J. Brynn Thomas, Vice Chair ..... New Bern John Curry ................................ Charlotte Jim Fain .......................................... Raleigh Jeff D. Etheridge, Jr. .................Whiteville Derryl Garner ...........................Newport Luther Hodges, Jr. ................. Chapel Hill Alex MacFadyen, Jr. ..................... Raleigh Greg Plemmons .................. Greensboro Robert Wicker .................... Greensboro Laura Wilson ....................... Wilmington N.C. State Ports Authority P.O. Box 9002 Wilmington, NC 28402 (910) 343-6482 NCports_PR@ncports.com www.ncports.com SEPTEMBER 2005 PAGE 5 www.ncports.com STEM TO STERN NEWS FROM THE PORTS Wilmington container operations set records by Susan Pridgen Communications The Port of Wilmington’s Container Terminal met a hurricane-related challenge just as well as the General Cargo crews at Wilmington and Morehead City did, but it wasn’t because of car-go diverted from elsewhere. A record-breaking performance resulted from the hurricane-caused diversion of Wilmington Photo by Susan Pridgen Photo Courtesy SSA Cooper import containers on board the YM Shanghai to Savannah Sept. 13. But on Sept. 20, most of the diverted cargo returned aboard the YM South, along with the regular amount of business. Even with the extra cargo, the ship left Wilmington on schedule. “Through the combined efforts of the Crane Department, International Longshoremen’s As-sociation labor force working for stevedore SSA Cooper, and the Container Department, we net-ted 40.14 moves per hour,” said Donna Jones, manager of the Port’s Container Terminal. . “It was an outstanding job by all to finish the vessel in 20 hours and allow it to depart on schedule.” The vessel worked two days as scheduled - three ILA gangs for 20 hours apiece - and completed 2,338 container moves. The work included 1,013 inbound containers and 1,225 outbound containers, she said. Rob Frazier, Wilmington opera-tions vice president for SSA Cooper, echoed Ms. Jones’s comments. “I’ve run out of superlatives,” he said. “N.C. Ports crane and toplift op-erators are without a doubt the best with whom I've ever had the plea-sure of working.” The Wilmington container team, including Ports Authority crane and toplift operators, employees of SSA Cooper, and the International Longshoremen’s Association labor force, gather to celebrate their big accomplishment. During August’s nearly 8,000 container moves, the average productivity was 40.57 moves per hour. “We are the first domestic unit of SSA Marine to do this,” said Rob Frazier of SSA Coo-per. “The level of communication and drive for excellence between crane and toplift operators, the ILA and SSA Cooper is outstanding!” SEPTEMBER 2005 PAGE 6 www.ncports.com STEM TO STERN Hurricane Katrina brings business Wilmington takes 12,000 tons of steel, Morehead City more than doubles usual rubber loading After Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast and shut down the Port of New Orleans for a matter of weeks, both of North Carolina’s Ports jumped in to help customers get cargo to its destination. In Wilmington, the Bright Laker discharged 12,000 tons of steel wire rod coils, in addition to 4,000 tons of rail for CSX Transportation already destined for the Port. When the hurricane struck, the ship was tran-siting the Panama Canal on the way to the Port of New Orleans - and when the extent of the hurricane's devastation became evident, the own-ers of the ship and the cargo on board opted to send it directly to Wilmington and discharge the entire load there. In Morehead City, the work started even be-fore the storm hit New Orleans. Morehead City's NEWS FROM THE PORTS Ophelia makes a mess in Morehead City Cargo Operations Department began moving rub-ber out of its warehouses on Monday, Aug. 30, to keep manufacturing facilities supplied while New Orleans was closed to weather the storm. The Port received an extra 7,000 units of rub-ber, at 1.5 tons each, when the PAC Alkaid called just after Hurricane Katrina hit the U.S. Gulf Coast. The Port, with the nation's second-largest volume of natural-rubber imports at just over 200,000 tons in fiscal 2005, was scheduled to receive about 7,000 of the ship's 17,000-unit car-go. The rest was destined for the Port of New Orleans, the top-ranked port for rubber. As Hurricane Ophelia approached Morehead City, the PAC Alkaid departed for Baton Rouge, La., to discharge the remaining cargo of about 3,000 units. Just a few days later, though, the PAC Acrux arrived with nearly 17,000 units - and again, Morehead City handled the entire cargo, includ-ing 10,000 units that also would have gone to Louisiana, but Hurricane Rita interfered. Tim Wilson, left, Port of Morehead City’s Maintenance Department, and Steve Minor from the Authority’s Engineering and De-velopment Department, examine a warehouse door at the Port dam-aged by Hurricane Ophelia. The storm did minimal damage in Wil-mington, closing the Port for one day, but lingered in Morehead City. The Port was closed for two days while the storm passed. Af-ter it was over, only minimal damage - like this door and sev-eral similar ones - was found in cargo-handling areas, but the Port Operations Center sustained se-vere damage to the roof, resulting in water damage inside. Photo by Susan Clizbe SEPTEMBER 2005 PAGE 7 www.ncports.com STEM TO STERN NEWS FROM THE PORTS Photo by Susan Pridgen Both Ports handled unexpectedly large discharges of cargo di-verted from the Port of New Or-leans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Above, one crane on the PAC Acrux lowers eight 1.5-ton units of rubber onto the dock at Morehead City, behind forklifts moving the previous load, while the warehouse fills with the ship’s nearly 25,000-ton cargo. At left, the Bright Laker’s crane swings over the deck carrying some of its cargo of 12,000 tons of steel wire rod coils at the Port of Wilmington as forklifts move toward the tran-sit shed with more coils. Both ships were handled by stevedore SSA Cooper, with International Long-shoremen’s Association labor. Photo by Susan Clizbe SEPTEMBER 2005 PAGE 8 www.ncports.com STEM TO STERN Port expansion plans move forward with cranes by Karen Fox Communications Director In addition to approving a contract for four 100-foot gauge container cranes at its meeting Sept. 16 in Wilmington, the N.C. State Ports Authority Board of Directors also authorized eight lift trucks to service new lumber business at the Port of Morehead City and three lift trucks to meet continued growth of lumber imports at the Port of Wilmington. The Board also agreed to buy steel beams and wooden cross ties for rail upgrades at the Port of Morehead City to provide the capability of handling heavy axle unit trains as port development proceeds on Radio Island. Buying these materials in advance will shorten the overall construction schedule and save money. Meeting in Morehead City Aug. 25, the Board approved contracts for several projects involving facilities and infrastructure at the Port, including: · a final design contract with Moffatt & Nichol of Raleigh for improvements to the T-head dock at Radio Island Terminal. · a contract to repair the mooring dolphin at Berth 1, with Taylor Brothers Marine of Beaufort. · a new five-year contract with the Gulf & Ohio Railways Holding Co., Inc. for rail switching on the Port. The previous operator, Carolina Rail Services, has transferred its interests BOARD REPORT Board aids progress of projects tries and improvements to the berths, will give Wilmington the capacity to handle larger, world-class vessels,” said Tom Eagar, CEO of the Ports Authority. “Our goal is to bring two additional container lines to Wilmington within the next 12 to 18 months.” “The $9 million appropriation from the N.C. General Assembly to the Ports Authority has jump-started these unprecedented expansion Continued from page 1 in the switching railroad to G&O. The new railroad is called the Morehead and South Fork Railroad Co., Inc. · a contract with USR Corp. for a stability study of Berths 1 through 9 and the barge docks at Morehead City. The study will survey the condition of berth structures, verify structural stability in relation to the current channel depth, and price any required repairs. The Board also began the first construction task to move the Port of Wilmington container terminal improvements forward by approving a contract – also with Taylor Brothers Marine – for a 425-foot extension of the 50-foot gauge container crane rail, from the north end of Berth 8 to the south end of Berth 7. This will allow two 1,100-foot vessels to conduct cargo operations at the same time, improving ship turnaround times and relieving congestion. Board Chairman Carl J. Stewart, Jr., also discussed the status of the Southport marina and issued the following statement: “The N.C. State Ports Authority is not moving ahead with any action on the Southport Marina at this time because many issues are pending with respect to the state legislature, the City of Southport, and marina leaseholders. The Board wishes, however, to see the marina upgraded by some entity to better serve the community. I have asked staff to detail any improvements that need to be made to the marina in order to be in compliance with the lease.” plans for our State Ports, and we thank Gover-nor Mike Easley and the members of the Gener-al Assembly for their support,” Mr. Stewart add-ed. “Our 44.5-percent business growth over the past two years, plus the predicted doubling of international trade and corresponding demand for port capacity, bring us a window of opportu-nity to bring additional economic benefits, jobs and tax revenues to North Carolina through these improvements to our Ports.” SEPTEMBER 2005 PAGE 9 www.ncports.com STEM TO STERN Authority welcomes Caribbean visitor by Karen Fox Communications Director How does a leading member of the hospitality industry on the Netherland Antilles island of St. Maarten come to be next in line to run that island nation’s only deepwater port? And what would bring that same person to North Carolina’s Ports? Keith D. Franca smiled, “I was recruited based on the need for someone with a broad management background in the absence of candidates with port management experience.” Mr. Franca’s management background began as assistant manager at the largest hotel on St. Maarten. He progressed to general manager of the hotel some 20 years later, then on to his own consulting business. He became deputy managing director at the St. Maarten Ports Authority in early 2005, with the expectation that he will become port director once formally approved by the port board of directors and shareholders at the end of the year. He wanted to get a running start on the job, with intense and varied port management training, he said. So the American Association of Port Authorities put together a four-month “familiarization” tour of US ports for him, with North Carolina as the grand finale. “What made a big difference about North Carolina was the attitude,” Mr. Franca said. “The people here are exceptionally friendly and very accommodating.” “Jeff Miles’ greeting was second to none,” he said of the Ports Authority’s COO. “In our first meeting he had all the documents necessary for someone to read overnight to understand the organization - operating budget, capital project budget, organizational chart, etc.” Mr. Franca observed the Port’s operations, from the container yard to the dock office to the cargo control center. He said he was impressed with the container crane productivity. “The attitude is like it is the employees’ business,” he said, adding that he was impressed by the mutual respect he observed during the monthly meeting of the engineering, maintenance and operations departments. Mr. Franca said there are similarities and differences between the St. Maarten Ports Authority and North Carolina’s Ports: the St. Maarten port is a landlord port, not an operating port like North Carolina’s. Container volumes are about the same as Wilmington’s, although St. Maarten’s business is import only. St. Maarten is a cruise port, with 1.3 million passengers visiting last year. North Carolina’s ports have not hosted cruise passengers regularly since 2001. Port security upgrades are under way at the St. Maarten Port, as they are at North Carolina’s Ports. Unforeseen business required Mr. Franca to leave North Carolina before his scheduled visit to the Port of Morehead City. At the top of his list of what he will remember most about visit, he said, was Jerry Moore, operations director at the Port of Wilmington. “He was my host and North Carolina hospitality ambassador.” And he may find there are more than a few eager North Carolina Ports volunteers ready to sign up for a reciprocal “familiarization” tour of the St. Maarten Port. Keith Franca spends his last day at the Port of Wilmington with Chief Operating Officer Jeff Miles, left, and Wilming-ton Director of Port Operations Jerry Moore, right. Photo by Susan Clizbe PORTS PEOPLE SEPTEMBER 2005 PAGE 10 www.ncports.com STEM TO STERN HUMAN RESOURCES NEWS by Lori McKoy Human Resources Are you among the many employ-ees who want to support charities working to help people along the hurri-cane- ravaged Gulf Coast? There’s an easy way to do it, with only one catch - you have to return your State Employ-ees Combined Campaign forms to Hu-man Resources by Oct. 31. SECC is a fundraising campaign to support the work of hundreds of charitable organizations. This is a single coordinated fundraiser which reaches out at the same time to all North Caro-lina state employees. More than 800 charities participate in this year's campaign, including those helping the victims of Katrina and Rita - and you can designate precisely which groups get your donation if you choose to. The donation may be a one-time amount, or may be spread over the year through payroll deduction. SECC has already made sure the charities are legitimate nonprofits - so all dona-tions are tax-deductible. The SECC’s fiscal 2006 goal is $5 million statewide. Here at the Ports Authority, we’d like to reach $10,000. That’s only $33.35 per em-ployee - if every employee donated the minimum Carpooling is an easy, flexible way to share rides to and from work or elsewhere. With gas prices rising and uncertain since the recent hur-ricanes, many more people are looking into it. Here are a few tips if you wish to share a ride to work with one or more of your friends or col-leagues. Get Acquainted. Before you commit shar-ing rides, meet with your potential partner to see if it's a good match. Check Insurance. Verify that all drivers have insurance coverage. Make Schedules. Determine who is driving which days - written schedules help avoid mis-understandings. Most carpools share driving re-sponsibilities. $5 per month for payroll deduction (that’s only $2.50 per pay period), we would raise $18,000 this year and sig-nificantly exceed the goal. The SECC materials you should have received last week include a list of the participants which are making a difference to help people affected by the storms rebuild and regroup. Each employee who participates in the campaign will receive a Ports Authority golf shirt and hat. And all participants’ names will go into a drawing for prizes to be awarded at the end of the campaign. The department with the highest participation rate will be rewarded with lunch in their department served by the Senior Management Team. The campaign began Sept. 1, and runs through Oct. 31. To participate, all you have to do is fill out the donation form and return it to the Hu-man Resources office for processing. If you choose payroll deduction, your total do-nation will be divided by 24 to determine the amount deducted from each paycheck. Deduc-tions begin in January. If you have any questions, see Lori McKoy or Laura Crowell in the Wilmington Human Resourc-es offices, or Amanda Bryant in Morehead City. SECC provides easy way to help hurricane victims Stay in Touch. Consider setting up a phone tree and sharing phone numbers. Pick the Time & Place. Decide what time to meet and choose pickup and drop-off points. Make the Rules. Answer in advance the ba-sics of sharing spaces, such as: • Is smoking allowed? • Is eating and drinking allowed? • Radio - on or off? Which station? • How do you accommodate unscheduled stops? • How will you handle alternative driving in case of illness or emergency? • How long will you wait for someone if they are late? 3 - 5 minutes is usually fair, but there’s always someone who pushes it! Hints on how to carpool - to save fuel and money SEPTEMBER 2005 PAGE 11 www.ncports.com STEM TO STERN Big names in furniture visit The biggest names in furniture toured the Port of Wilmington with Business Development leaders Glenn Carlson and Sarah Gaillard in August. Furniture Brands International, the umbrella group including Henredon, Drexel Heritage, Thomasville and Maitland-Smith, sent a crowd to visit the container facility, meet representatives of the carriers, and discuss how they can help bring new container services to the Port. Left to right in front are Paul Busko, Yang Ming; Leroy Harris, Laneventure; Bunni Mills, Drexel Heritage; Carmen Hughes and Donna Seagle, Henredon; Teresa Vickers, Drexel. In back are Tom Guthrie, Business Development; Darcie Hansen, Hanjin; Tom Burke, Maitland-Smith; Jennifer McClain, Hanjin; Bill Harris, Henredon; Davy Whittington, Drexel; and Jody Sims, Thomasville. Photo by Susan Pridgen Have you recognized a fellow employee lately? NEWS FROM THE PORTS The Employee Recognition Committee invites you to recog-nize the exceptional work of your colleagues. Nomination forms for the Lighthouse Awards program can be found in the Human Resources form racks, near suggestion boxes, and in the Ports Teamroom. We kindly ask that you return completed forms to your Human Resources office. We look forward to hearing from you! SEPTEMBER 2005 PAGE 12 www.ncports.com STEM TO STERN Photos by Susan Clizbe Eddie Inman from the Port of Wilmington’s Main-tenance Department loads a 1940s tool cabinet from the Wilmington Shipyard’s fire truck garage at the Cape Fear Museum. Ports Authority donates history Wilmington Shipyard artifacts join Cape Fear Museum collection The Port of Wilmington has donated tools and equipment to the Cape Fear Museum to help tell the story of the World War II Wilmington Ship-yard which was the Port’s predecessor on the banks of the Cape Fear River. Last year, the museum unveiled an exhibit entitled “The 20th Century: A Century of Change,” with a section focusing on the new in-dustries and expanding populations which re-energized the region at the end of the Century. Museum Director Ruth Haas, a longtime friend of the Ports and a member of the Mari-time Festival steering committee, realized that the Port, and the Shipyard before it, clearly de-served inclusion. She asked in the spring whether anything from the old days might still be around. A search through storage areas and attics - literal and figurative - turned up a dozen items of interest, and in August, the Port’s Mainte-nance Department delivered them to the Muse-um’s permanent collection. Besides those shown here, the donation in-cluded three hand trucks, a tobacco-bale dolly, chain hoist, cable cutter, miter saw, nail puller, bar clamp and bow saw. 2006 HOLIDAYS New Year Jan. 2 MLK Jr. Birthday Jan. 16 Good Friday April 14 Memorial Day May 29 Independence Day July 4 Labor Day Sept. 4 Veteran’s Day Nov. 10 Thanksgiving Nov. 23 / 24 Christmas Dec. 22 / 25 NEWS FROM THE PORTS Barbara Rowe of the Cape Fear Museum, left, and Kenny Platt and Eddie Inman of the Port of Wilmington’s Maintenance de-partment dolly a 1950s-vintage locker into the museum’s elevator. SEPTEMBER 2005 PAGE 13 www.ncports.com STEM TO STERN A diplomatic delegation from the West African nation of Gabon, and their hosts from the N.C. Department of Transportation Divi-sion of Aviation and Wilmington International Airport, tour the Port of Wilmington Sept. 10. Left to right in front are Steve Haynes, Ports Authority; Jules Marius Ogouebandja, Ambassador of Gabon to the U.S.; Brigitte Fanguinoveni, Air Gabon; Louis Gaston Mayila, Air Gabon; William Williams, Division of Aviation; and Gary Broughton, ILM. In the rear, left to right: Julie Wilsey, ILM; Bill Cherry, Air Wilmington; Jim Morton, ILM; Andrew Bouassa, ITSC; Jean-de-Dieu Mickouma, Gabonese Embassy; Chuck Miller, ITSC; and Jon Rosborough, ILM. Photo by Karen Fox Ambassador visits Wilmington NEWS FROM THE PORTS A new vending machine contractor for the Port of Wilmington and Wilmington Maritime Building should help reduce shortages and machine problems. Canteen has been awarded the state contracts for vending services by the North Carolina Divison of Ser-vices for the Blind. Canteen will support the drink and snack machines and resupply based on usage. A new cold-food machine in the new W-5 break room provides cold sandwiches, fruit, milk and juic-es. The machine is fairly expensive, so Canteen will monitor usage to determine if business volume war-rant its remaining on the Port. Canteen is a national vendor and will provide: • new/updated snack machines (adding one in the Maintenance Department) • Coke and Pepsi products throughout the Port • regular visits to keep machines stocked and working. Please let Laura Crowell in Human Resources, 343-6310, know if you have any comments or re-quests. New vendor brings new machines, choices Delmer Smith, a temporary equipment operator, enjoys his lunch in the Cargo Handling Department’s new W-5 break room as equipment operator Michelle Bennett and Foreman Steve Pigford, make their choices. The machine at right is a new one which offers cold sandwiches, fruit, milk and juices. State Health Plan announces plan changes and open enrollment September is open enrollment for North Carolina’s state employee health insurance programs. This is the time of year to drop or add coverage for yourself or family members. All changes will become effective Oct. 1. Please note that you cannot make chang-es to coverage during the plan year unless there is a ‘qualifying event.’ Examples in-clude the birth or adoption of a child, mar-riage, or loss of coverage for dependents. For a complete list of qualifying events, please refer to the Health Benefits booklet. Members of the State Health Plan should already have received information mailed to their homes about the open enrollment peri-od and plan changes. If you did not or if you have any questions, please see your Human Resources office right away. SEPTEMBER 2005 PAGE 14 www.ncports.com STEM TO STERN Elliott Larsen Police Officer Morehead City New Team Member PORTS PEOPLE Service Awards September Wilmington Thomas Walker - Cargo Handling 30 years Jeff Flack - Plant Maintenance 25 years October Morehead City William Abreu - Cargo Handling 5 years Robin Galyon - Cranes 5 years Wilmington Clarence Williams - Maintenance 25 years Corporate Ron Ardecki - IT 5 years Mark Neal - IT 5 years October Birthdays Morehead City Oct. 3 Kenny Eldred - Plant Maintenance Oct. 7 Braxton Davis - Bulk Handling Oct. 14 Doug Campen - Safety Oct. 30 Leo James - Plant Maintenance Wilmington Oct. 1 Lisa Michael - Containers Oct. 14 J.R. Hickman - Cranes Oct. 18 Paul Jones - Cargo Handling Oct. 21 Susan Rimel - Containers Oct. 22 Stephen Groves - Cargo Handling Oct. 25 David Leggett - Plant Maintenance Corporate Oct. 15 Ron Ardecki - IT Oct. 17 Linda Wright - Communications Oct. 26 Jeff Strader - Finance Oct. 29 Ivy McGuire - Finance Oct. 31 Heather Pirtle - Business Development Rita Harris has joined the N.C. State Ports Authority as Government Relations Manager. She will work with Government Relations Manager Kaye Gattis to advocate for the Au-thority's initiatives in Washington, D.C., and with the General Assembly and state agencies in Ra-leigh. "Rita's background in public policy and leg-islative affairs at both the state and federal lev-el will serve us well at a key time," Ports Au-thority CEO Tom Eagar said. "Our $265 million expansion program for the Ports of Morehead City and Wilmington is getting into high gear, and support from all of our partners in the pub-lic arena is crucial as we move forward." Most recently, Ms. Harris served in the North Carolina General Assembly as special assistant for the budget in the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives James B. Black. She has also served as staff assistant to the House Ap-propriations Committee and as legislative assistant to Rep. Tho-mas C. Hardaway. In Washington, D.C., Ms. Har-ris worked on Capitol Hill as ad-ministrative assistant and chief clerk to U.S. Rep. Claude Pepper, House Rules Committee chair-man, as financial manager for the House Committee on Aging, and staff assis-tant to Sen. Floyd Haskell. She also was an ex-ecutive assistant at Patton Boggs, one of the nation's leading public-policy law firms. A native of Halifax County, Ms. Harris has relocated from Raleigh to Wilmington. Rita Harris Harris brings Raleigh and Capitol Hill experience to Ports’ Government Relations team The state retirement system, part of the Office of the State Treasurer, has information online at www.treasurer.state.nc.us/dsthome/RetirementSystems SEPTEMBER 2005 PAGE 15 www.ncports.com STEM TO STERN Gaillard re-elected to board of forest products group PORTS PEOPLE Sarah Gaillard, director of Container Logistics for the N.C. State Ports Authority, has been re-elected to a four-year term on the International Forest Products Transportation Association board of directors. She was first elected in 2001, as the board’s first woman member. “Forest products have long been one of the most significant contributors to the cargo handled at North Carolina’s Ports,” Ms. Gaillard said. “Even now, these commodities, including lumber, paper and woodpulp, are more than a third of our total tonnage – so this group represents a key part of our business.” Ms. Gaillard joined the Ports Authority in 1989 as manager of intermodal and steamship sales, and since then has served in various executive positions, including managing director and deputy executive director of Business Development. With 25 years experience in the shipping and logistics industry, Ms. Gaillard has extensive experience in maritime operations. She previously was vice president of sales for a shipping agency in Charleston, S.C. and she is also a licensed customs-house broker. Ms. Gaillard is a native of Charleston and attended the College of Charleston. She lives in Wilmington. The IFPTA has a worldwide membership of approximately 600. Its mission is to ensure an efficient global transport and logistics system for the forest products industry and its customers. Members represent a cross-section of the many disciplines related to the transport, handling, and distribution of forest products. Sarah Gaillard Christina Tosto Ed Church September brought a pair of moves for members of the Busi-ness Development team. Christina Tosto, market re-search specialist, has been pro-moted to market support supervi-sor. Reporting to Managing Direc-tor of Business Development Glenn Carlson, she will supervise the Business Development support staff and provide support for container, bulk, break-bulk, and distribution services functions within the department. Ms. Tosto graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a bachelor’s degree in public-policy analysis and earned a master’s degree in public adminis-tration from East Carolina University. She joined the Ports Authority and the Busi-ness Development Department in 2004. Ed Church, economic development manager, has transferred to the Finance Department as real estate manager. Reporting to Chief Financial and Information Officer Jeff Strader, he is responsible for the development of long-range prop-erty acquisition strategies and the administration and utilization of tenant-occupied properties. He will continue to assist the Business Development Department with economic activities. Mr. Church joined the Ports Authority in December 2003 after having served as executive director of the Davidson Economic Development Commission in Lexington, N.C., and as an economic development representative with the N.C. Department of Commerce. He earned an associate’s degree in engineer-ing technology from Davidson County Commu-nity College and a bachelor’s degree in agricul-ture and business administration from Tennes-see Technological University. Tosto, Church move to new positions SEPTEMBER 2005 PAGE 16 www.ncports.com STEM TO STERN Free parking and a free trolley shuttle to the North Carolina Seafood Festival start a full week-end at the Port of Morehead City’s 27th annual Open House, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1. Held in conjunction with the Morehead City Seafood Festival, the Port’s open house provides visitors a firsthand look at the Port and its facil-ities which link North Carolina consumers, busi-ness, and industry with world markets. Guided bus tours of the Port’s docks, ware-houses, cranes, equipment and cargo will be of-fered. The N.C. Ferry Division’s M/V Silver Lake and the U.S. Coast Guard’s Elm – a 220-foot buoy-tender – will be docked at the Port and open for tours as well. The ever-popular “fossil dig” sponsored by PCS Phosphate, one of the Port’s main customers, will entertain kids. Live music is also on the Mike Weeks, left, host of the Business Break on WITN-TV, a “commandant” sponsor of the Morehead City Sea-food Festival, interviews Bill Guthrie, maintenance manager at the Port of Morehead City, which is an “admi-ral” sponsor of the festival. The Port is visible across the water from the dock on Morehead City’s waterfront. Shuttles from parking at the Port will take visitors to the heart of the Sea-food Festival’s activities. ACTIVITY BUZZ Morehead City Open House schedule from Kenny Boy and Little John and Shel-by Cundiff. New this year is a vendor selling food and drinks on the Port. Last year's wildly popular boat show returns with even more boats from more dealers on dis-play, and two car clubs will show off their rides just inside the main gate. Also on display will be some of the Ports' cargo, and equipment displays from Homeland Security, N.C. Marine Fisheries and the Port. Free parking is available for Seafood Festival activities all day Saturday and Sunday. The shut-tle runs Saturday from 9:30 a.m. until 8 p.m.and Sunday 10 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. On Sunday, Oct. 2, Seafood Festival’s Bless-ing of the Fleet will take place at 10 a.m. at the Port. The ship tours will also be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Ships, tours, music, food, boats and cars - what more is there? www.ncstatefair.org Photo by Susan Clizbe
Object Description
Description
Title | North Carolina ports. |
Other Title | North Carolina State Ports Authority newsletter; Stem to stern; Monthly newsletter of the North Carolina State Ports Authority |
Date | 2005-09 |
Description | September 2005 |
Digital Characteristics-A | 1129 KB; 16 p. |
Digital Format | application/pdf |
Full Text | Moffatt & Nichol drawing of container terminal with new crane and rubber-tire gantries STEM TO STERN The Monthly Newsletter of the North Carolina State Ports Authority Board approves 4 cranes SEPTEMBER 2005 Big Buy Page 2 Security Moves Forward Page 3 Morehead City: Where Rubber Meets the Road Page 4 Wilmington Containers Keep Setting Records Page 5 part of this most historic time for the North Caro-lina State Ports Authority,” said Board Chair-man Carl J. Stewart Jr. “The crane contract rep-resents the single largest equipment expenditure ever by the Ports Authority.” Voting unanimously in a meeting in Wilming-ton Sept. 16, the Board approved award of a $33.2 million contract for the construction of four new cranes to Zhenhua Port Machinery Co. of Shanghai, China, for delivery in early 2007. The four 100-foot gauge container cranes will join Wilmington’s four existing container cranes as the linchpin of Wilmington’s five-year container terminal expansion program which will double container handling capacity at the Port’s ex-isting facility. “The 100-foot gauge cranes, along with the planned purchase of rubber-tire gan- Continued on page 8 Wilmington container terminal expansion takes big step forward The Port of Wilmington will move its expan-sion program forward with the purchase of four 100-foot gauge container cranes under a con-tract approved by the N.C. State Ports Authori-ty Board of Directors. “It is wonderful to reach this point in our growth plans, and it is a particular joy to me to be a Durwood Garner, left, and Kenneth Eldred of the Port of Morehead City’s Maintenance Department hang the sign for Shipping and Receiving on the Maritime Building, where the department has moved since Hurricane Ophelia flooded the Port Operations Cen-ter building. For more on the impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Ophelia at the Ports, see pages 6 and 7. Photo by Susan Clizbe SEPTEMBER 2005 PAGE 2 www.ncports.com STEM TO STERN MATERIALS MANAGEMENT Ports Improvement Projects Move Forward with Big Purchases by John Robinson Materials Manager, NC State Ports Authority The North Carolina State Ports Authority made history Sept. 16, as our Board of Directors approved a group of purchase contracts totaling more than $35 million. Within the next two years, the North Caroli-na Ports will upgrade container crane operations and container terminal management, update both Ports’ lift trucks, and grow the size of our facil-ities as well, to meet market demands. What a great time to be part of an organization that has embraced growth and market changes, stepped up to the plate, and hit a grand slam. The record-breaking shopping list includes the purchase of four new container cranes, eight new lift trucks for the Port of Morehead City, three new lift trucks for the Port of Wilmington, and steel rails and crossties for the Radio Island de-velopment project. The biggest item on the list, the crane pur-chase follows an in-depth evaluation of bidders which included negotiated sessions in Wilming-ton with each of the finalist bidders. These ses-sions included participation from the Ports Au-thority’s Purchasing, Crane, and Engineering and Development departments. Following the Board meeting, a notice to pro-ceed was issued to Shanghai Zhenhua Port Ma-chinery Co., with the official contract signing set for October. The cranes are to be delivered and commissioned in the first quarter of 2007. The Port of Morehead City’s eight lift trucks include two with a capacity of 15,500 pounds and six with 10,000-lb. capacity, equipped with lumber forks, from Daewoo Heavy Industries ‘What a great time to be part of an organization that has embraced growth and market changes, stepped up to the plate, and hit a grand slam.’ John Robinson Materials Manager Corp. A notice to proceed and purchase order has been issued, with delivery expected by year’s end. The Port of Wilmington has added three 15,500 lb. lift trucks in addition to six already on or-der from Daewoo. Delivery on these is expected by year’s end as well. Materials to upgrade rail access as part of the Radio Island de-velopment project have been ordered. The steel rail and crossties should be delivered in January. Another key part of Wilmington’s con-tainer- terminal ex-pansion is on target. SMV Konecranes of Sweden, the manu-facturer which won the contract to provide nine new reach stack-ers, has provided a manufacturing update. De-livery remains on schedule for three units each in October, November and December. The Ports Authority has been recognized with the 2005 Achievement of Excellence in Procure-ment award. The award is presented annually by the Na-tional Purchasing Institute, the Institute for Sup-ply Management, and the National Institute for Governmental Purchasing. In 2004, only 112 governmental entities, from the municipal to the federal level, received the award - only 100 in 2003. The award is presented for innovation, pro-fessionalism, continuous education and training, and leadership by the procurement organization. The Materials Management Department is proud to accept this award on behalf of our en-tire organization. SEPTEMBER 2005 PAGE 3 www.ncports.com STEM TO STERN NEWS FROM THE PORTS Ports win new security funding as work begins on first major project The North Carolina State Ports Authority will receive four grants worth $336,865 from a $142 million program managed by the U.S. Homeland Security Department. The winners in Round 5 of the Port Security program were announced in early September by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. At the same time, the first work on security system upgrades is under way at the Ports of Wilmington and Morehead City. This award brings the total in Federal port security grants for North Carolina’s Ports to just over $8 million. “We are pleased to be taking these steps to enhance security at our Ports, and greatly ap-preciate the support from Congressman Mike McIntyre and the entire North Carolina Congres-sional delegation,” said Ports Authority CEO Tom Eagar. “With continued Federal support for seaport security, we continue to strengthen the servic-es we provide the state and the nation.” Work began in Sep-tember at both Ports on a comprehensive securi-ty system that integrates fencing, lighting and com-puter- controlled perime-ter monitoring and intru-sion detection with an in-dustry- standard access-control system. The system was de-signed by C.H. Guernsey & Co., an engineering firm that specializes in security, and is based on a security assessment funded by the first round of port security grants. Johnson Controls Inc. is the prime contractor for the system. Federal grant funding covers a significant por-tion of the cost of this project with the Authori-ty’s share about $700,000. “These projects will provide Port Police offic-ers with the equipment they need to do an even better job to protect and guard the docks and vessels,” said Doug Campen, director of Safety and Security for the Ports Authority. Projects funded in the new round of grants include: • $196,560 - improvements to waterside perimeter surveillance • $72,495 - law enforcement patrol boat • $64,611 - underwater intrusion detection/scanning equipment system • $3,545 - communications interoperability equipment that allows the Port Police to more effectively and directly communicate and coordinate emergency operations with military and other law enforcement agencies. Doug Campen, left, and Wilmington Port Police Capt. Donnie Long observe as a worker for Maner Builders Supply Co., the fencing subcontractor, gets to work. Photo by Susan Pridgen SEPTEMBER 2005 PAGE 4 www.ncports.com STEM TO STERN NEWS FROM THE PORTS Morehead City meets the challenge Where the rubber hits the road - Cargo Operations is on the job As the Port of Morehead City’s natu-ral rubber business boomed, filling the gap left by the closure of the Port of New Or-leans by Hurricane Katrina, the bulk of the increased workload fell on the Cargo Operations Department. “We picked up the pace to help the manufacturers keep their plants running, and we’ve been running at that pace for a full month now,” said Debra Winfrey, man-ager of General Cargo Operations at the Port. The Cargo Operations Department’s people have been working overtime to han-dle more than 10,000 extra tons of rubber from the PAC Alkaid and 15,000 from the PAC Acrux - managing warehouses and loading trucks and railcars. In August, the average day saw 51 trucks coming through the gate, with the high day 69. The September day average soared to 88, and on Sept. 23, 146 trucks were loaded and unloaded at the Port. Of 1,372 trucks through Sept. 26, with four days left in the month, 940 carried rubber and 356 carried lum-ber, 46 more than the entire month of August. The rub-ber truck count in August was 219 fewer than Septem-ber so far. “Our cargo team is dedicated and experienced - an excellent team who understand the value of superb cus- See more on pages 6 and 7 Port of Morehead City forklifts load rubber onto one truck for delivery to manufacturers as two others wait for loading. Each aluminum bin is a unit - 1.5 tons of rubber - and each truck carries 15 or 16 units. Photo by Susan Clizbe tomer service, for our lumber and rubber customers alike,” Ms. Winfrey said. “The extra work has fallen mainly to our cargo-han-dling and shipping and receiving staff, and they've been extremely resourceful and flexible. It's their commitment and energy which is allowing us to meet our customers’ special needs at this particularly trying time.” Other departments have also pitched in to help, in-cluding Cranes, Maintenance and Bulk Handling. STEM TO STERN The Monthly Newsletter of the North Carolina State Ports Authority SEPTEMBER 2005 Stem to Stern is an electronic newsletter published each month by the North Carolina State Ports Authority. It is available on the Ports Authority website in Portable Document Format for online reading or printing by the reader: www.ncports.com Editorial content is edited, prepared, and provided by the Communications and Human Resources teams of the Ports Authority. Tom Eagar ................. Chief Executive Officer Karen Fox ............ Communications Director Rick Koch .......... Human Resources Director Susan Clizbe ........ Communications Manager Laura Crowell ................... Human Resources Susan Pridgen ...................... Communications BOARD OF DIRECTORS Carl J. Stewart, Jr., Chair ............. Gastonia J. Brynn Thomas, Vice Chair ..... New Bern John Curry ................................ Charlotte Jim Fain .......................................... Raleigh Jeff D. Etheridge, Jr. .................Whiteville Derryl Garner ...........................Newport Luther Hodges, Jr. ................. Chapel Hill Alex MacFadyen, Jr. ..................... Raleigh Greg Plemmons .................. Greensboro Robert Wicker .................... Greensboro Laura Wilson ....................... Wilmington N.C. State Ports Authority P.O. Box 9002 Wilmington, NC 28402 (910) 343-6482 NCports_PR@ncports.com www.ncports.com SEPTEMBER 2005 PAGE 5 www.ncports.com STEM TO STERN NEWS FROM THE PORTS Wilmington container operations set records by Susan Pridgen Communications The Port of Wilmington’s Container Terminal met a hurricane-related challenge just as well as the General Cargo crews at Wilmington and Morehead City did, but it wasn’t because of car-go diverted from elsewhere. A record-breaking performance resulted from the hurricane-caused diversion of Wilmington Photo by Susan Pridgen Photo Courtesy SSA Cooper import containers on board the YM Shanghai to Savannah Sept. 13. But on Sept. 20, most of the diverted cargo returned aboard the YM South, along with the regular amount of business. Even with the extra cargo, the ship left Wilmington on schedule. “Through the combined efforts of the Crane Department, International Longshoremen’s As-sociation labor force working for stevedore SSA Cooper, and the Container Department, we net-ted 40.14 moves per hour,” said Donna Jones, manager of the Port’s Container Terminal. . “It was an outstanding job by all to finish the vessel in 20 hours and allow it to depart on schedule.” The vessel worked two days as scheduled - three ILA gangs for 20 hours apiece - and completed 2,338 container moves. The work included 1,013 inbound containers and 1,225 outbound containers, she said. Rob Frazier, Wilmington opera-tions vice president for SSA Cooper, echoed Ms. Jones’s comments. “I’ve run out of superlatives,” he said. “N.C. Ports crane and toplift op-erators are without a doubt the best with whom I've ever had the plea-sure of working.” The Wilmington container team, including Ports Authority crane and toplift operators, employees of SSA Cooper, and the International Longshoremen’s Association labor force, gather to celebrate their big accomplishment. During August’s nearly 8,000 container moves, the average productivity was 40.57 moves per hour. “We are the first domestic unit of SSA Marine to do this,” said Rob Frazier of SSA Coo-per. “The level of communication and drive for excellence between crane and toplift operators, the ILA and SSA Cooper is outstanding!” SEPTEMBER 2005 PAGE 6 www.ncports.com STEM TO STERN Hurricane Katrina brings business Wilmington takes 12,000 tons of steel, Morehead City more than doubles usual rubber loading After Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast and shut down the Port of New Orleans for a matter of weeks, both of North Carolina’s Ports jumped in to help customers get cargo to its destination. In Wilmington, the Bright Laker discharged 12,000 tons of steel wire rod coils, in addition to 4,000 tons of rail for CSX Transportation already destined for the Port. When the hurricane struck, the ship was tran-siting the Panama Canal on the way to the Port of New Orleans - and when the extent of the hurricane's devastation became evident, the own-ers of the ship and the cargo on board opted to send it directly to Wilmington and discharge the entire load there. In Morehead City, the work started even be-fore the storm hit New Orleans. Morehead City's NEWS FROM THE PORTS Ophelia makes a mess in Morehead City Cargo Operations Department began moving rub-ber out of its warehouses on Monday, Aug. 30, to keep manufacturing facilities supplied while New Orleans was closed to weather the storm. The Port received an extra 7,000 units of rub-ber, at 1.5 tons each, when the PAC Alkaid called just after Hurricane Katrina hit the U.S. Gulf Coast. The Port, with the nation's second-largest volume of natural-rubber imports at just over 200,000 tons in fiscal 2005, was scheduled to receive about 7,000 of the ship's 17,000-unit car-go. The rest was destined for the Port of New Orleans, the top-ranked port for rubber. As Hurricane Ophelia approached Morehead City, the PAC Alkaid departed for Baton Rouge, La., to discharge the remaining cargo of about 3,000 units. Just a few days later, though, the PAC Acrux arrived with nearly 17,000 units - and again, Morehead City handled the entire cargo, includ-ing 10,000 units that also would have gone to Louisiana, but Hurricane Rita interfered. Tim Wilson, left, Port of Morehead City’s Maintenance Department, and Steve Minor from the Authority’s Engineering and De-velopment Department, examine a warehouse door at the Port dam-aged by Hurricane Ophelia. The storm did minimal damage in Wil-mington, closing the Port for one day, but lingered in Morehead City. The Port was closed for two days while the storm passed. Af-ter it was over, only minimal damage - like this door and sev-eral similar ones - was found in cargo-handling areas, but the Port Operations Center sustained se-vere damage to the roof, resulting in water damage inside. Photo by Susan Clizbe SEPTEMBER 2005 PAGE 7 www.ncports.com STEM TO STERN NEWS FROM THE PORTS Photo by Susan Pridgen Both Ports handled unexpectedly large discharges of cargo di-verted from the Port of New Or-leans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Above, one crane on the PAC Acrux lowers eight 1.5-ton units of rubber onto the dock at Morehead City, behind forklifts moving the previous load, while the warehouse fills with the ship’s nearly 25,000-ton cargo. At left, the Bright Laker’s crane swings over the deck carrying some of its cargo of 12,000 tons of steel wire rod coils at the Port of Wilmington as forklifts move toward the tran-sit shed with more coils. Both ships were handled by stevedore SSA Cooper, with International Long-shoremen’s Association labor. Photo by Susan Clizbe SEPTEMBER 2005 PAGE 8 www.ncports.com STEM TO STERN Port expansion plans move forward with cranes by Karen Fox Communications Director In addition to approving a contract for four 100-foot gauge container cranes at its meeting Sept. 16 in Wilmington, the N.C. State Ports Authority Board of Directors also authorized eight lift trucks to service new lumber business at the Port of Morehead City and three lift trucks to meet continued growth of lumber imports at the Port of Wilmington. The Board also agreed to buy steel beams and wooden cross ties for rail upgrades at the Port of Morehead City to provide the capability of handling heavy axle unit trains as port development proceeds on Radio Island. Buying these materials in advance will shorten the overall construction schedule and save money. Meeting in Morehead City Aug. 25, the Board approved contracts for several projects involving facilities and infrastructure at the Port, including: · a final design contract with Moffatt & Nichol of Raleigh for improvements to the T-head dock at Radio Island Terminal. · a contract to repair the mooring dolphin at Berth 1, with Taylor Brothers Marine of Beaufort. · a new five-year contract with the Gulf & Ohio Railways Holding Co., Inc. for rail switching on the Port. The previous operator, Carolina Rail Services, has transferred its interests BOARD REPORT Board aids progress of projects tries and improvements to the berths, will give Wilmington the capacity to handle larger, world-class vessels,” said Tom Eagar, CEO of the Ports Authority. “Our goal is to bring two additional container lines to Wilmington within the next 12 to 18 months.” “The $9 million appropriation from the N.C. General Assembly to the Ports Authority has jump-started these unprecedented expansion Continued from page 1 in the switching railroad to G&O. The new railroad is called the Morehead and South Fork Railroad Co., Inc. · a contract with USR Corp. for a stability study of Berths 1 through 9 and the barge docks at Morehead City. The study will survey the condition of berth structures, verify structural stability in relation to the current channel depth, and price any required repairs. The Board also began the first construction task to move the Port of Wilmington container terminal improvements forward by approving a contract – also with Taylor Brothers Marine – for a 425-foot extension of the 50-foot gauge container crane rail, from the north end of Berth 8 to the south end of Berth 7. This will allow two 1,100-foot vessels to conduct cargo operations at the same time, improving ship turnaround times and relieving congestion. Board Chairman Carl J. Stewart, Jr., also discussed the status of the Southport marina and issued the following statement: “The N.C. State Ports Authority is not moving ahead with any action on the Southport Marina at this time because many issues are pending with respect to the state legislature, the City of Southport, and marina leaseholders. The Board wishes, however, to see the marina upgraded by some entity to better serve the community. I have asked staff to detail any improvements that need to be made to the marina in order to be in compliance with the lease.” plans for our State Ports, and we thank Gover-nor Mike Easley and the members of the Gener-al Assembly for their support,” Mr. Stewart add-ed. “Our 44.5-percent business growth over the past two years, plus the predicted doubling of international trade and corresponding demand for port capacity, bring us a window of opportu-nity to bring additional economic benefits, jobs and tax revenues to North Carolina through these improvements to our Ports.” SEPTEMBER 2005 PAGE 9 www.ncports.com STEM TO STERN Authority welcomes Caribbean visitor by Karen Fox Communications Director How does a leading member of the hospitality industry on the Netherland Antilles island of St. Maarten come to be next in line to run that island nation’s only deepwater port? And what would bring that same person to North Carolina’s Ports? Keith D. Franca smiled, “I was recruited based on the need for someone with a broad management background in the absence of candidates with port management experience.” Mr. Franca’s management background began as assistant manager at the largest hotel on St. Maarten. He progressed to general manager of the hotel some 20 years later, then on to his own consulting business. He became deputy managing director at the St. Maarten Ports Authority in early 2005, with the expectation that he will become port director once formally approved by the port board of directors and shareholders at the end of the year. He wanted to get a running start on the job, with intense and varied port management training, he said. So the American Association of Port Authorities put together a four-month “familiarization” tour of US ports for him, with North Carolina as the grand finale. “What made a big difference about North Carolina was the attitude,” Mr. Franca said. “The people here are exceptionally friendly and very accommodating.” “Jeff Miles’ greeting was second to none,” he said of the Ports Authority’s COO. “In our first meeting he had all the documents necessary for someone to read overnight to understand the organization - operating budget, capital project budget, organizational chart, etc.” Mr. Franca observed the Port’s operations, from the container yard to the dock office to the cargo control center. He said he was impressed with the container crane productivity. “The attitude is like it is the employees’ business,” he said, adding that he was impressed by the mutual respect he observed during the monthly meeting of the engineering, maintenance and operations departments. Mr. Franca said there are similarities and differences between the St. Maarten Ports Authority and North Carolina’s Ports: the St. Maarten port is a landlord port, not an operating port like North Carolina’s. Container volumes are about the same as Wilmington’s, although St. Maarten’s business is import only. St. Maarten is a cruise port, with 1.3 million passengers visiting last year. North Carolina’s ports have not hosted cruise passengers regularly since 2001. Port security upgrades are under way at the St. Maarten Port, as they are at North Carolina’s Ports. Unforeseen business required Mr. Franca to leave North Carolina before his scheduled visit to the Port of Morehead City. At the top of his list of what he will remember most about visit, he said, was Jerry Moore, operations director at the Port of Wilmington. “He was my host and North Carolina hospitality ambassador.” And he may find there are more than a few eager North Carolina Ports volunteers ready to sign up for a reciprocal “familiarization” tour of the St. Maarten Port. Keith Franca spends his last day at the Port of Wilmington with Chief Operating Officer Jeff Miles, left, and Wilming-ton Director of Port Operations Jerry Moore, right. Photo by Susan Clizbe PORTS PEOPLE SEPTEMBER 2005 PAGE 10 www.ncports.com STEM TO STERN HUMAN RESOURCES NEWS by Lori McKoy Human Resources Are you among the many employ-ees who want to support charities working to help people along the hurri-cane- ravaged Gulf Coast? There’s an easy way to do it, with only one catch - you have to return your State Employ-ees Combined Campaign forms to Hu-man Resources by Oct. 31. SECC is a fundraising campaign to support the work of hundreds of charitable organizations. This is a single coordinated fundraiser which reaches out at the same time to all North Caro-lina state employees. More than 800 charities participate in this year's campaign, including those helping the victims of Katrina and Rita - and you can designate precisely which groups get your donation if you choose to. The donation may be a one-time amount, or may be spread over the year through payroll deduction. SECC has already made sure the charities are legitimate nonprofits - so all dona-tions are tax-deductible. The SECC’s fiscal 2006 goal is $5 million statewide. Here at the Ports Authority, we’d like to reach $10,000. That’s only $33.35 per em-ployee - if every employee donated the minimum Carpooling is an easy, flexible way to share rides to and from work or elsewhere. With gas prices rising and uncertain since the recent hur-ricanes, many more people are looking into it. Here are a few tips if you wish to share a ride to work with one or more of your friends or col-leagues. Get Acquainted. Before you commit shar-ing rides, meet with your potential partner to see if it's a good match. Check Insurance. Verify that all drivers have insurance coverage. Make Schedules. Determine who is driving which days - written schedules help avoid mis-understandings. Most carpools share driving re-sponsibilities. $5 per month for payroll deduction (that’s only $2.50 per pay period), we would raise $18,000 this year and sig-nificantly exceed the goal. The SECC materials you should have received last week include a list of the participants which are making a difference to help people affected by the storms rebuild and regroup. Each employee who participates in the campaign will receive a Ports Authority golf shirt and hat. And all participants’ names will go into a drawing for prizes to be awarded at the end of the campaign. The department with the highest participation rate will be rewarded with lunch in their department served by the Senior Management Team. The campaign began Sept. 1, and runs through Oct. 31. To participate, all you have to do is fill out the donation form and return it to the Hu-man Resources office for processing. If you choose payroll deduction, your total do-nation will be divided by 24 to determine the amount deducted from each paycheck. Deduc-tions begin in January. If you have any questions, see Lori McKoy or Laura Crowell in the Wilmington Human Resourc-es offices, or Amanda Bryant in Morehead City. SECC provides easy way to help hurricane victims Stay in Touch. Consider setting up a phone tree and sharing phone numbers. Pick the Time & Place. Decide what time to meet and choose pickup and drop-off points. Make the Rules. Answer in advance the ba-sics of sharing spaces, such as: • Is smoking allowed? • Is eating and drinking allowed? • Radio - on or off? Which station? • How do you accommodate unscheduled stops? • How will you handle alternative driving in case of illness or emergency? • How long will you wait for someone if they are late? 3 - 5 minutes is usually fair, but there’s always someone who pushes it! Hints on how to carpool - to save fuel and money SEPTEMBER 2005 PAGE 11 www.ncports.com STEM TO STERN Big names in furniture visit The biggest names in furniture toured the Port of Wilmington with Business Development leaders Glenn Carlson and Sarah Gaillard in August. Furniture Brands International, the umbrella group including Henredon, Drexel Heritage, Thomasville and Maitland-Smith, sent a crowd to visit the container facility, meet representatives of the carriers, and discuss how they can help bring new container services to the Port. Left to right in front are Paul Busko, Yang Ming; Leroy Harris, Laneventure; Bunni Mills, Drexel Heritage; Carmen Hughes and Donna Seagle, Henredon; Teresa Vickers, Drexel. In back are Tom Guthrie, Business Development; Darcie Hansen, Hanjin; Tom Burke, Maitland-Smith; Jennifer McClain, Hanjin; Bill Harris, Henredon; Davy Whittington, Drexel; and Jody Sims, Thomasville. Photo by Susan Pridgen Have you recognized a fellow employee lately? NEWS FROM THE PORTS The Employee Recognition Committee invites you to recog-nize the exceptional work of your colleagues. Nomination forms for the Lighthouse Awards program can be found in the Human Resources form racks, near suggestion boxes, and in the Ports Teamroom. We kindly ask that you return completed forms to your Human Resources office. We look forward to hearing from you! SEPTEMBER 2005 PAGE 12 www.ncports.com STEM TO STERN Photos by Susan Clizbe Eddie Inman from the Port of Wilmington’s Main-tenance Department loads a 1940s tool cabinet from the Wilmington Shipyard’s fire truck garage at the Cape Fear Museum. Ports Authority donates history Wilmington Shipyard artifacts join Cape Fear Museum collection The Port of Wilmington has donated tools and equipment to the Cape Fear Museum to help tell the story of the World War II Wilmington Ship-yard which was the Port’s predecessor on the banks of the Cape Fear River. Last year, the museum unveiled an exhibit entitled “The 20th Century: A Century of Change,” with a section focusing on the new in-dustries and expanding populations which re-energized the region at the end of the Century. Museum Director Ruth Haas, a longtime friend of the Ports and a member of the Mari-time Festival steering committee, realized that the Port, and the Shipyard before it, clearly de-served inclusion. She asked in the spring whether anything from the old days might still be around. A search through storage areas and attics - literal and figurative - turned up a dozen items of interest, and in August, the Port’s Mainte-nance Department delivered them to the Muse-um’s permanent collection. Besides those shown here, the donation in-cluded three hand trucks, a tobacco-bale dolly, chain hoist, cable cutter, miter saw, nail puller, bar clamp and bow saw. 2006 HOLIDAYS New Year Jan. 2 MLK Jr. Birthday Jan. 16 Good Friday April 14 Memorial Day May 29 Independence Day July 4 Labor Day Sept. 4 Veteran’s Day Nov. 10 Thanksgiving Nov. 23 / 24 Christmas Dec. 22 / 25 NEWS FROM THE PORTS Barbara Rowe of the Cape Fear Museum, left, and Kenny Platt and Eddie Inman of the Port of Wilmington’s Maintenance de-partment dolly a 1950s-vintage locker into the museum’s elevator. SEPTEMBER 2005 PAGE 13 www.ncports.com STEM TO STERN A diplomatic delegation from the West African nation of Gabon, and their hosts from the N.C. Department of Transportation Divi-sion of Aviation and Wilmington International Airport, tour the Port of Wilmington Sept. 10. Left to right in front are Steve Haynes, Ports Authority; Jules Marius Ogouebandja, Ambassador of Gabon to the U.S.; Brigitte Fanguinoveni, Air Gabon; Louis Gaston Mayila, Air Gabon; William Williams, Division of Aviation; and Gary Broughton, ILM. In the rear, left to right: Julie Wilsey, ILM; Bill Cherry, Air Wilmington; Jim Morton, ILM; Andrew Bouassa, ITSC; Jean-de-Dieu Mickouma, Gabonese Embassy; Chuck Miller, ITSC; and Jon Rosborough, ILM. Photo by Karen Fox Ambassador visits Wilmington NEWS FROM THE PORTS A new vending machine contractor for the Port of Wilmington and Wilmington Maritime Building should help reduce shortages and machine problems. Canteen has been awarded the state contracts for vending services by the North Carolina Divison of Ser-vices for the Blind. Canteen will support the drink and snack machines and resupply based on usage. A new cold-food machine in the new W-5 break room provides cold sandwiches, fruit, milk and juic-es. The machine is fairly expensive, so Canteen will monitor usage to determine if business volume war-rant its remaining on the Port. Canteen is a national vendor and will provide: • new/updated snack machines (adding one in the Maintenance Department) • Coke and Pepsi products throughout the Port • regular visits to keep machines stocked and working. Please let Laura Crowell in Human Resources, 343-6310, know if you have any comments or re-quests. New vendor brings new machines, choices Delmer Smith, a temporary equipment operator, enjoys his lunch in the Cargo Handling Department’s new W-5 break room as equipment operator Michelle Bennett and Foreman Steve Pigford, make their choices. The machine at right is a new one which offers cold sandwiches, fruit, milk and juices. State Health Plan announces plan changes and open enrollment September is open enrollment for North Carolina’s state employee health insurance programs. This is the time of year to drop or add coverage for yourself or family members. All changes will become effective Oct. 1. Please note that you cannot make chang-es to coverage during the plan year unless there is a ‘qualifying event.’ Examples in-clude the birth or adoption of a child, mar-riage, or loss of coverage for dependents. For a complete list of qualifying events, please refer to the Health Benefits booklet. Members of the State Health Plan should already have received information mailed to their homes about the open enrollment peri-od and plan changes. If you did not or if you have any questions, please see your Human Resources office right away. SEPTEMBER 2005 PAGE 14 www.ncports.com STEM TO STERN Elliott Larsen Police Officer Morehead City New Team Member PORTS PEOPLE Service Awards September Wilmington Thomas Walker - Cargo Handling 30 years Jeff Flack - Plant Maintenance 25 years October Morehead City William Abreu - Cargo Handling 5 years Robin Galyon - Cranes 5 years Wilmington Clarence Williams - Maintenance 25 years Corporate Ron Ardecki - IT 5 years Mark Neal - IT 5 years October Birthdays Morehead City Oct. 3 Kenny Eldred - Plant Maintenance Oct. 7 Braxton Davis - Bulk Handling Oct. 14 Doug Campen - Safety Oct. 30 Leo James - Plant Maintenance Wilmington Oct. 1 Lisa Michael - Containers Oct. 14 J.R. Hickman - Cranes Oct. 18 Paul Jones - Cargo Handling Oct. 21 Susan Rimel - Containers Oct. 22 Stephen Groves - Cargo Handling Oct. 25 David Leggett - Plant Maintenance Corporate Oct. 15 Ron Ardecki - IT Oct. 17 Linda Wright - Communications Oct. 26 Jeff Strader - Finance Oct. 29 Ivy McGuire - Finance Oct. 31 Heather Pirtle - Business Development Rita Harris has joined the N.C. State Ports Authority as Government Relations Manager. She will work with Government Relations Manager Kaye Gattis to advocate for the Au-thority's initiatives in Washington, D.C., and with the General Assembly and state agencies in Ra-leigh. "Rita's background in public policy and leg-islative affairs at both the state and federal lev-el will serve us well at a key time," Ports Au-thority CEO Tom Eagar said. "Our $265 million expansion program for the Ports of Morehead City and Wilmington is getting into high gear, and support from all of our partners in the pub-lic arena is crucial as we move forward." Most recently, Ms. Harris served in the North Carolina General Assembly as special assistant for the budget in the office of Speaker of the House of Representatives James B. Black. She has also served as staff assistant to the House Ap-propriations Committee and as legislative assistant to Rep. Tho-mas C. Hardaway. In Washington, D.C., Ms. Har-ris worked on Capitol Hill as ad-ministrative assistant and chief clerk to U.S. Rep. Claude Pepper, House Rules Committee chair-man, as financial manager for the House Committee on Aging, and staff assis-tant to Sen. Floyd Haskell. She also was an ex-ecutive assistant at Patton Boggs, one of the nation's leading public-policy law firms. A native of Halifax County, Ms. Harris has relocated from Raleigh to Wilmington. Rita Harris Harris brings Raleigh and Capitol Hill experience to Ports’ Government Relations team The state retirement system, part of the Office of the State Treasurer, has information online at www.treasurer.state.nc.us/dsthome/RetirementSystems SEPTEMBER 2005 PAGE 15 www.ncports.com STEM TO STERN Gaillard re-elected to board of forest products group PORTS PEOPLE Sarah Gaillard, director of Container Logistics for the N.C. State Ports Authority, has been re-elected to a four-year term on the International Forest Products Transportation Association board of directors. She was first elected in 2001, as the board’s first woman member. “Forest products have long been one of the most significant contributors to the cargo handled at North Carolina’s Ports,” Ms. Gaillard said. “Even now, these commodities, including lumber, paper and woodpulp, are more than a third of our total tonnage – so this group represents a key part of our business.” Ms. Gaillard joined the Ports Authority in 1989 as manager of intermodal and steamship sales, and since then has served in various executive positions, including managing director and deputy executive director of Business Development. With 25 years experience in the shipping and logistics industry, Ms. Gaillard has extensive experience in maritime operations. She previously was vice president of sales for a shipping agency in Charleston, S.C. and she is also a licensed customs-house broker. Ms. Gaillard is a native of Charleston and attended the College of Charleston. She lives in Wilmington. The IFPTA has a worldwide membership of approximately 600. Its mission is to ensure an efficient global transport and logistics system for the forest products industry and its customers. Members represent a cross-section of the many disciplines related to the transport, handling, and distribution of forest products. Sarah Gaillard Christina Tosto Ed Church September brought a pair of moves for members of the Busi-ness Development team. Christina Tosto, market re-search specialist, has been pro-moted to market support supervi-sor. Reporting to Managing Direc-tor of Business Development Glenn Carlson, she will supervise the Business Development support staff and provide support for container, bulk, break-bulk, and distribution services functions within the department. Ms. Tosto graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a bachelor’s degree in public-policy analysis and earned a master’s degree in public adminis-tration from East Carolina University. She joined the Ports Authority and the Busi-ness Development Department in 2004. Ed Church, economic development manager, has transferred to the Finance Department as real estate manager. Reporting to Chief Financial and Information Officer Jeff Strader, he is responsible for the development of long-range prop-erty acquisition strategies and the administration and utilization of tenant-occupied properties. He will continue to assist the Business Development Department with economic activities. Mr. Church joined the Ports Authority in December 2003 after having served as executive director of the Davidson Economic Development Commission in Lexington, N.C., and as an economic development representative with the N.C. Department of Commerce. He earned an associate’s degree in engineer-ing technology from Davidson County Commu-nity College and a bachelor’s degree in agricul-ture and business administration from Tennes-see Technological University. Tosto, Church move to new positions SEPTEMBER 2005 PAGE 16 www.ncports.com STEM TO STERN Free parking and a free trolley shuttle to the North Carolina Seafood Festival start a full week-end at the Port of Morehead City’s 27th annual Open House, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1. Held in conjunction with the Morehead City Seafood Festival, the Port’s open house provides visitors a firsthand look at the Port and its facil-ities which link North Carolina consumers, busi-ness, and industry with world markets. Guided bus tours of the Port’s docks, ware-houses, cranes, equipment and cargo will be of-fered. The N.C. Ferry Division’s M/V Silver Lake and the U.S. Coast Guard’s Elm – a 220-foot buoy-tender – will be docked at the Port and open for tours as well. The ever-popular “fossil dig” sponsored by PCS Phosphate, one of the Port’s main customers, will entertain kids. Live music is also on the Mike Weeks, left, host of the Business Break on WITN-TV, a “commandant” sponsor of the Morehead City Sea-food Festival, interviews Bill Guthrie, maintenance manager at the Port of Morehead City, which is an “admi-ral” sponsor of the festival. The Port is visible across the water from the dock on Morehead City’s waterfront. Shuttles from parking at the Port will take visitors to the heart of the Sea-food Festival’s activities. ACTIVITY BUZZ Morehead City Open House schedule from Kenny Boy and Little John and Shel-by Cundiff. New this year is a vendor selling food and drinks on the Port. Last year's wildly popular boat show returns with even more boats from more dealers on dis-play, and two car clubs will show off their rides just inside the main gate. Also on display will be some of the Ports' cargo, and equipment displays from Homeland Security, N.C. Marine Fisheries and the Port. Free parking is available for Seafood Festival activities all day Saturday and Sunday. The shut-tle runs Saturday from 9:30 a.m. until 8 p.m.and Sunday 10 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. On Sunday, Oct. 2, Seafood Festival’s Bless-ing of the Fleet will take place at 10 a.m. at the Port. The ship tours will also be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Ships, tours, music, food, boats and cars - what more is there? www.ncstatefair.org Photo by Susan Clizbe |
OCLC number | 22496029 |