North Carolina ports.

              STEM TO STERN
The Newsletter of the
North Carolina State Ports Authority
Help Make TWIC
Start Smooth
Page 2
Really Big Boat
Page 3
TWIC Compliance
Begins Nov. 1
Pages 6-7
Morehead City Rail
Page 9
JULY / AUGUST
2008
Photo by Susan Pridgen
Banners at Port gates remind everyone about the approaching TWIC deadline. See
pages 6 and 7 for more information.
The North Carolina State Ports Authority's fis-cal
2008 year-end results hold bright spots, de-spite
a continued decline in volumes of some key
cargoes.
The Authority as a whole completed the year
with a positive cash flow from operations of $9.1
million, compared to $7.5 million in fiscal 2007.
Operating revenues were up for the year,
thanks mainly to an increase in container vol-umes
in Wilmington and guaranteed tonnage on
the general terminals, along with increased rail
activities at Wilmington and Morehead City. Con-tainer
business increased 20 percent as a result
of a second CKYH Alliance service, from North
China.
Cost-containment practices we started in
January 2007 succeeded in reducing the oper-ating
and general administrative expenses by
$500,000 compared to last year. At the same
time, added depreciation and interest expense
related to new container cranes in Wilmington
and a new warehouse in Morehead City.
The U.S. economy's prolonged and well-docu-mented
slump, particularly in the housing mar-ket
for which many of the Authority's key com-modities
are destined, continues to affect the
general cargo terminals at Morehead City and
Wilmington.
Tonnage handled at both terminals for the
year ended Jume 30 was down 10 percent from
fiscal 2007. However, in recent years, our Busi-ness
Develoment team has negotiated contracts
that include guaranteed volumes. So, regardless
of the actual volumes, we get revenue for the
Year-end results hold bright spots despite
economic downturn
by Thomas J. Eagar
CEO, NC State Ports Authority
Continued on page 5
JULY / AUGUST 2008 PAGE 2
www.ncports.com
STEM TO STERN
STEM TO STERN
The Monthly Newsletter
of the North Carolina State Ports Authority
JULY / AUGUST 2008
Stem to Stern is an electronic
newsletter published 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 .... Senior Communications Director
Rick Koch .......... Vice President, Administration
Susan Clizbe .............. Communications Manager
Susan Pridgen ........................... Communications
Adrienne Wright .................... Human Resources
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Carl J. Stewart Jr., Chair .............. Gastonia
J. Brynn Thomas, Vice Chair ..... New Bern
Jesse S. Capel ..................................... Troy
Brett Carter .............................. Charlotte
Jim Fain .......................................... Raleigh
Jeff D. Etheridge Jr. ..................Whiteville
Derryl Garner ...........................Newport
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
Help make access changes smooth
by Doug Campen
Director of Safety and Security
Changes to access-control procedures at
North Carolina’s Ports begin Nov. 1. That day,
we begin requiring everyone who enters the gates
of our Ports in Morehead City and Wilmington to
be enrolled in the federal Transportation Worker
Identification Credential program.
The nation’s seaports have consistently in-creased
security over the past six years, and
that trend continues with the addition of the
TWIC card to our access control system.
The Department of Homeland Security
through the Transportation Security Administra-tion
and United States Coast Guard mandates
this new requirement. In the near future, this
Federal requirement will apply to all ports
throughout the United States.
We understand that this requirement may
create difficulties for some of our customers, ten-ants,
and other members of the Ports communi-ty.
I hope that you will understand that this is a
federal requirement, and that it is an essential
part of nationwide efforts to keep ports, and the
American public, safe.
For now, the TWIC card is required in addi-tion
to the N.C. State Ports Authority badge,
which most users already have. In the future,
once TSA has finalized the hardware require-ments
for TWIC readers, we may be able to com-bine
their functions, but for
now, we must use both.
We’re doing everything we
can to make this change go
smoothly, and we need all of
you to help us with the effort.
Once you have enrolled,
there is a 60 to 90-day pro-cessing
time for the TWIC
card. As I write this, it is 65
days to Nov. 1, which means
the window is closing to have
your credential in hand on time. If you have
enrolled - and bring your receipt as proof - we
will work with you.
If you have not started the process yet, and
you want to drive through our gates any time
after Nov. 1, please put it at the top of your “to-do”
list. And if you have employees who need
TWIC cards, please make sure they are enrolled
on time as well.
To make the process as smooth as possible
for our customers and colleagues, we offer help
getting the enrollment process started. We will
assist with the online pre-enrollment and ap-pointment-
setting process during our normal
badging hours. See Pages 6 and 7 for more
information.
We are working to make the transition to en-forcement
of a national port security credential
seamless at our Ports. Please help us succeed.
Doug Campen
Director of
Safety and Security
SAFETY AND SECURITY UPDATE
JULY / AUGUST 2008 PAGE 3
www.ncports.com
STEM TO STERN
NEWS FROM THE PORTS
Precise coordination results in successful operation
A giant houseboat barely squeezed through the Port of Wilm-ington’s
South Gate recently, made its way the length of the dock
and came to rest in cradles on Berth 1, thanks to the careful
planning and a group effort involving several departments.
The 115-foot long, 60-ton houseboat was built in Kentucky
and trucked to the Port of Wilmington.
“Not many ports are willing, much less as able as we are, to
facilitate special cargo like this,” said Chief Operations Officer
Jeff Miles. “Customers remember and appreciate the Port of Wilm-ington
team pulling it off,” said Miles. “I want to say to everyone
involved, ‘great job.’”
Steve Jackson, Wilmington’s senior manager of Port Opera-tions,
coordinated the project.
“This boat was 7 feet longer and a foot wider than the last
boat we handled, in June,” he said. “This is the largest house-boat
we have handled so far. We now know that we can raise the
bar and go a little larger for our next customer.”
Jackson said special, delicate cargo this size involves quite a
bit of work to prepare the rigging.
Several Ports departments teamed up to make the lift a suc-cess,
beginning with the Port Police, who worked with the Wilm-ington
Police Department to make the transit to the South Gate
smooth.
The convoy was met at the South Gate by a Facilities Mainte-nance
team, who cleared the way and helped guide the driver
into the Port.
Steel yard supervisor
Cleve Bragg managed the set-up
on Berth 1, and the crane
department teamed up to di-rect
the two-crane lift required
to move the houseboat off the
trailer onto its cradle.
“We are targeting North
Carolina’s boat industry and
would really like to help them
increase their exports
through Wilmington,” said
Vice President of Business
and Economic Development
Glenn Carlson. “Efforts like
this help us get that and we
appreciate everyone’s hard
work and teamwork.”
The houseboat was load-ed
onto the M/V Socol for
transport to the Ukraine.
Above, a houseboat moves down the dock at the Port of Wilmington with its escorts.
Top, two cranes hold the boat as riggers prepare it to be placed on its cradle.
Photos by Susan Clizbe
JULY / AUGUST 2008 PAGE 4
www.ncports.com
STEM TO STERN
Gov. Mike Easley and the
leaders of both houses of the
North Carolina General As-sembly
have made their 2008
appointments to the N.C.
State Ports Authority Board
of Directors.
Governor Easley appoint-ed
Brett Carter to a full six-year
term, after he complet-ed
the term of the late John
Curry. He is a senior vice
president of customer origi-nation
and retention at Duke
Energy's Charlotte headquarters, leading the
group responsible for acquiring and retaining new
wholesale customers and providing sales and ser-vices
to the company’s existing large commercial
and industrial customers. He also has responsi-bility
for generating and cultivating economic de-velopment
opportunities.
Mr. Carter joined Duke Power in July 2005 as
vice president of residential and small business
customers. He also served as vice president of
the central services division for Aquila/Utilicorp
United in Kansas City, Mo., and was responsible
for market planning and new business develop-ment
for Consolidated Natural Gas, now part of
Dominion Energy.
He is a member of the American Association
of Blacks in Energy, serves on the board of the
Crisis Assistance Ministry in Charlotte and is a
member of Leadership Char-lotte.
Mr. Carter holds a bache-lor's
degree from Clarion Uni-versity
of Pennsylvania and a
master of business adminis-tration
degree from the Uni-versity
of Pittsburgh. He and
his wife, Beckie, live in Char-lotte
and have a daughter
and two sons.
Senate President Pro Tem-pore
Marc Basnight appoint-ed
Laura Wilson to a third
Governor, General Assembly leaders
reappoint Ports Board members
BOARD UPDATE
two-year term. She was first appointed to the
Board of Directors in 2004.
Mrs. Wilson chairs the Board's Government
Relations Committee. She serves on the N.C. De-partment
of Transportation Rail Advisory Coun-cil
and sat on the N.C. 2001 Transit Commis-sion.
She is an active member of the Greater
Wilmington Chamber of Commerce and has served
on the Board of Directors and chaired the Cham-ber’s
Governmental Affairs Committee.
She was a co-owner of Wilson’s Supermar-kets
and has held leadership positions in several
statewide and local business and civic organiza-tions.
She and her husband, Allan, live in Wilm-ington
and have four grown children.
Rep. Joe Hackney, Speaker of the House of
Representatives reappointed Jeff D. Etheridge Jr.
to a third two-year term. He has served on the
Board of Directors since
2004.
Mr. Etheridge is the re-gional
president of BB&T
Corporation North Carolina
and previously served as ex-ecutive
vice president of
United Carolina Bancshares.
He served as chairman of the
Board of Trustees of the Uni-versity
of North Carolina at
Wilmington.
He attended East Caroli-na
University and earned a
bachelor’s degree in business
administration from Campbell University. He is
a graduate of the Executive Program at the Uni-versity
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where
he also served as dean and instructor of the North
Carolina School of Banking.
Mr. Etheridge is on the board of trustees of
the Southeastern Community College Founda-tion
and the board of directors of the Columbus
County Committee of 100 and the North Caroli-na
Museum of Forestry.
Jeff Etheridge
Laura Wilson
Brett Carter
JULY / AUGUST 2008 PAGE 5
www.ncports.com
STEM TO STERN
NEWS FROM THE PORTS
Results follow national downturn,
new budget aims for rebound
The PAC Alnath discharges 4,112 units of natural rubber at the Port of Morehead City Aug. 12. Rubber ships are
scheduled about twice a month through December.
Photo by Susan Clizbe
guaranteed amount. The inclusion of this guar-anteed
tonnage makes the general cargo ton-nage
decline only 1 percent.
Looking at the cargo handled by the general
terminals, tonnage for some commodities, includ-ing
direct reduced iron, rubber, aggregate and
sulfur products, posted improved performance,
while forest products, woodpulp, chemicals and
phosphate were down.
National reports indicate that an economic
recovery may not be likely until the second half
of 2009. Our customers' outlooks reflect this tim-ing
as well.
We have anticipated the prolonged nature of
the business downturn as we developed the bud-get
for our current fiscal year 2009. We are con-tinuing
our very conservative approach and con-tinuing
to examine areas where we can realize
cost savings.
It's important to recognize that historically,
economic downturns have been followed by sharp
recoveries. We must continue our expansion pro-grams
and facilities improvements so that we
are ready for the rebound when it happens. How-ever,
we are deferring some expansion projects
until the economy shows signs of recovery.
With these steps, we are managing risk and
minimizing debt service. We anticipate that our
overall revenues will hold steady despite fluctua-tions
in commodity groups, and we project a pos-itive
net income for fiscal 2009. We will continue
to provide quality service to our customers and
support their business in the world's markets,
while we maintain a firm foundation so that we
can move forward when the economy does.
Continued from page 1
JULY / AUGUST 2008 PAGE 6
www.ncports.com
STEM TO STERN
SAFETY AND SECURITY UPDATE
North Carolina TWIC
Enrollment Centers
Wilmington
5704 Oleander Drive
Effective Sept. 2, the Wilmington office is open
Monday - Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The
office is at 5704 Oleander Drive, Suite 107.
Morehead City
311 Atlantic Beach Causeway
Operating hours at the Morehead City office
are Tuesday and Wednesday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The office is at 311 Atlantic Beach Causeway.
The deadline for 100-percent enforcement of TWIC cards at the Ports of Morehead City and
Wilmington is rapidly approaching. Beginning Nov. 1, anyone who needs unescorted access to
secure areas of N.C. State Ports Authority facilities must present a valid Transportation Work-er
Identification Credential. The secure areas are inside the gates at both Ports.
All Ports employees, longshoremen, tenants and their employees, truck drivers, delivery drivers,
shipping agents and other customer representatives - anyone who needs to drive through the gate
at either Port - must have both a Ports Authority badge to swipe on the card readers and a TWIC
card to show to the gate officers.
With the current processing time for a TWIC card running between 60 and 90 days,
it is important for anyone who needs the credential to enroll as soon as possible. Pre-enrollment
speeds up the process by allowing workers to provide biographic information and to
schedule a time to complete the application process in person. The pre-enrollment process reduces
the time it takes to fully enroll in the TWIC program and eliminates waiting at enrollment centers.
Get more information and pre-enroll online at www.tsa.gov/twic
TWIC compliance starts Nov.1
Anyone without TWIC card needs to enroll right away
JULY / AUGUST 2008 PAGE 7
www.ncports.com
STEM TO STERN
Prepare for the approaching TWIC deadline
The N.C. State Ports Authority’s Safety and
Security Department recognized early on that the
most important part of a successful rollout of TWIC
enforcement is awareness.
A July 31 survey of non-employees entering
the gates at both Ports showed that many did
not know about the new Transportation Worker
Identification Credential. In Wilmington, 80 per-cent,
and in Morehead City, 90 percent of those
surveyed said they weren't aware.
Since then, the Authority implemented a ma-jor
awareness campaign, including news media,
letters to Ports users, flyers for truckers, and
banners at each Port gate.
For those who have not yet enrolled, the Ports
Authority is offering assistance with the Trans-portatin
Security Administration’s online pre-en-rollment
process.
Pre-enrollments are processed during normal
Port badge-issuing hours in Wilmington and More-head
City.
At the Port of Morehead City, badging is in the
Port Police department, in the Maritime Building,
and is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday, Wednes-day
and Friday.
Wilmington hours are 9 a.m.-noon and 1-4 p.m.
Monday through Friday in the Port Police offices.
SAFETY AND SECURITY UPDATE
The N.C. State Ports Authority website,
www.ncports.com, offers an emergency
button that is activated whenever a contin-gency
situation creates a need for fast ac-cess
to important information.
For example, when the U.S. Coast Guard
issues port closure information related to
approaching bad weather, the notices will
be posted along with any related informa-tion
about Ports operations.
The U.S. Coast Guard has authority over
the waterways, while the Ports Authority
decides how to handle operations on Port
facilities
NC Ports.com website offers emergency info
When the button is activated, it will ap-pear
in the top left corner of the website, as
seen below.
Photo by Susan Pridgen
Donna Futreal from the Port of Wilmington Police Depart-ment
gathers information from Danny Kerr, a truck driver
with Port City Transportation. Amy Marsh, a truck driver
with Lightning Transportation awaits her turn as Ricky
Tharrington, security technology specialist, observes.
JULY / AUGUST 2008 PAGE 8
www.ncports.com
STEM TO STERN
NEWS FROM THE PORTS
Good things come to those who bait
by Susan Pridgen, Communications
Port provides storage and lay down area for reef project
This summer, the N.C. State Ports Authority
continued a tradition of helping improve fishing
in North Carolina’s waters. Nearly 2,000 tons of
waste concrete to augment artificial reefs is be-ing
handled at the Port of Wilmington.
“The Port of Wilmington as well as the Port of
Morehead City’s assistance is essential to the
reef projects,” said Marine Fisheries artificial reef
coordinator Jim Francesconi. “Steve Jackson has
been great to work with on this
project and we always enjoy work-ing
with the Ports.”
The concrete pipes and other
construction materials will be add-ed
to artificial reefs that serve as
hiding places for marine life. The
materials were donated to the N.C.
Marine Fisheries Division, Long
Bay Artificial Reef Organization
and Fish for Tomorrow organiza-tion
by Old Castle Concrete Prod-ucts
of Raleigh and Fayetteville,
Barnhill Construction of Wilming-ton,
and the City of Wilmington.
“The Ports Authority has been
working with Marine Fisheries on
reef projects for more than 20
years,” said Wilmington Senior
Manager of Port Operations Steve
Jackson. “As part of the coopera-tive
effort for the worth of this Steve Springle with NC Marine Fisheries uses a forklift to handoff concrete
pipes to Jack Balance onboard the West Bay.
Photo by Susan Pridgen
project and to assist another State agency have
always provided lay down area, dock space and
crane usage at no charge.”
The Long Bay group focuses on enhancing
eight reef sites in Brunswick County. Three of
the eight will receive materials from this project.
Fish for Tomorrow works to improve fishing in
the Carolina Beach area.
The vessel West Bay will take about a dozen
loads of material that has been stored at the
Port, each load about 155 tons. The project aims
to place two loads a week through September.
North Carolina State Fair
Oct. 16-26 at the
State Fairgrounds in Raleigh
For complete information, including ticket sales,
visit the website at www.ncstatefair.org
JULY / AUGUST 2008 PAGE 9
www.ncports.com
STEM TO STERN
Frog repairs complete Morehead City rail project
The last piece of a major crane and train rail
upgrade project at the Port of Morehead City is
about to be completed with the replacement of
11 “frogs” at rail intersections. Frogs are highly
specialized rail pieces used where two rails cross.
“Although it appears to be heavy construc-tion
going on, it is also very delicate work,” said
Ports Authority Project Manager Barry Addertion.
“Each frog is custom-made for its specific loca-tion
and must be precisely installed. If done in-correctly,
this may result in derailment or the
shortened life of the equipment.”
After the frogs are installed, the rail is in-stalled
leading to each frog. At the same time,
the precise elevation must also be maintained
throughout the area, Addertion added.
Once everything is secured in place, a layer
of epoxy grout is poured under each piece in the
area. The grout hardens in about 48 hours to a
specified strength of 9,000 pounds per square
inch to support the weight of the cranes and rail
cars that use the rail.
NEWS FROM THE PORTS
The 654-foot Gearbulk vessel Avocet Arrow discharges 3,467 bundles of lumber at the Port of Morehead in July. The lumber was
stored in the Port’s new 177,000-square-foot warehouse before delivery to customers in North Carolina, Florida and Georgia.
Photos by Susan Clizbe
Repairs on the dockside rail at the Port of Morehead City
shows the frogs, joints where rail meets at different angles.
In the background, workers continue with the project.
JULY / AUGUST 2008 PAGE 10
www.ncports.com
STEM TO STERN
Morehead City Ports Authority Police Officer Dale Dudley, left, carries the North
Carolina Special Olympics “Flame of Hope” torch. Officer Chris Smith, second
from left, and the Atlantic Beach Police Department officers joined him.
Photo by Robby Jones
Port hosts Black Chamber Council
The Greater Wilmington
Chamber of Commerce’s Black
Chamber Council met July 17
at the Port of Wilmington to learn
about the Ports Authority.
Nelson Conger from the Ma-terials
Management Depart-ment
discussed the purchasing
process within the Ports Author-ity.
He explained how the bid
process works and encouraged
visitors to subscribe to the Ports
bid notification service, at
www.ncports.com.
Lori McKoy from the Human
Resources Department talked to
the group about the different
categories of work at the Ports
Authority and how the Port re-cruits
employees.
Anyone interested in receiv-ing
notices of job openings or
newly posted business opportu-nities
at the Ports also can reg-ister
at www.ncports.com.
NEWS FROM THE PORTS
Lori McKoy, left, the Port of Wilmington’s human resources manager, and
Nelson Conger, right, welcome Louise McColl, Greater Wilmington Chamber
of Commerce Board of Directors chair and Wilma Daniels, Wilmington Black
Chamber Council chair.
Photo by Karen Fox
JULY / AUGUST 2008 PAGE 11
www.ncports.com
STEM TO STERN
ECU professors study Ports
Professors from East Carolina University’s De-partment
of Marketing and Supply Chain Manage-ment
took a quick course in Ports 101 in July.
Dr. John Kros, chair of the Supply Chain and
Logistics Curriculum Committee, and Dr. Scott Na-dler
visited both Ports to research a new class.
They toured the Port of Morehead City with Port
Operations Director Rex Edwards July 7, then came
to the Port of Wilmington July 11 for a tour with
Ports Authority Chief Operations Officer Jeff Miles.
“Both tours went great,” said Lee Hunnings, a
graduate for Dr. Kros. “Rex and Jeff were wonderful
hosts and shared a great deal of information re-garding
operations, trends, needs and more.”
Since neither professor has worked in shipping
and port operations, Hunnings said, they wanted to
get the feel of a port during day-to-day operations.
“They got good photos and video footage at both
facilities, and were thrilled to be able to go in the
crane operator’s cab and experience a bird’s eye view
of containers being discharged,” Hunnings added.
He said the tours were a wonderful experience
for the group, and that more groups are likely to
visit in the fall because of a statewide push in the
colleges of business at University of North Carolina
schools to include more emphasis on how to pre-pare
students for careers in shipping and logistics.
NC A&T students visit Wilmington
High school students participating in a summer pro-gram
at N.C. A&T State University in Greensboro visited
the Port of Wilmington in July. The students got a tour of
the Port conducted by Jeff Bellows, director of facilities
maintenance. They were interested in information on
the significance of the transportation industry and a
better understanding of the business of the Ports. The
program, part of NC A&T’s Transportation Institute, pro-vides
students insight into logisitics and engineering
options available in transportation education at the Uni-versity
level. It is offered to high school juniors and
seniors. Several staff members accompanied the group
on the four-hour trip from Greensboro, and another
group is expected to visit in summer 2009.
NEWS FROM THE PORTS
Photo by Susan Pridgen
Jeff Miles, right, gives a tour to Dr. Nadler, left, Dr.
Kros and MBA student Lee Hunnings.
Photo by Susan Pridgen
JULY / AUGUST 2008 PAGE 12
www.ncports.com
STEM TO STERN
NEWS FROM THE PORTS
Photo by Rhonda Wright
Wendy Curtis from RU Ltd? assists (left to right) Durwood Garner and Will Rose from the Maintenance Department and
Anthony Nelson and Ron McLamb from the Crane Department with their shopping during their visit to the Port of
Morehead on-site company store. Curtis sets up the on-site company store quarterly at the Port of Morehead City
and Wilmington.