Enjoy your. You are traveling through the Houston Ship Channel, a 52-mile, man-made wonder that connects Houston to the Gulf of Mexico.

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1 Enjoy your SAME Welcome 2015 JETC 2 0 to one of the nation s busiest industrial seaports. Each year, an average of 7,700 ship calls are made at the 1 Port of Houston, carrying everything from petroleum and consumer goods to steel and automobiles. More5 than 150,000 barge transits also come through the J port carrying liquid cargoes and taking containerized cargo to smaller ports along the Gulf Coast. E T You will see many things today. They include cargo from all over the country and the world being loaded and unloaded, hard-working men and women operating cargo-moving equipment, and many different types of wharves, terminals and other facilities that are all part of port operations. You are traveling through the Houston Ship Channel, a 52-mile, man-made wonder that connects Houston to the Gulf of Mexico. For more information, please visit houston.com

2 Ships at the Port of Houston RO-RO Carriers General cargo ships are often busy at the port s wharves delivering breakbulk cargo such as steel, wind turbines and blades, and other large, bulky cargo not contained with a uniform-sized container. You can recognize a general cargo ship because it is designed with cranes built on its decks for loading and unloading its cargo onto a wharf. This is different from containerized cargo ships which rely on cranes on the wharves to pick up and move the containers. Multiple cranes work simultaneously to move the containers efficiently off and on these ships. Grain and other dry bulk cargo are transported in dry bulk carriers. These ships carry their cargo deep in the holds of the ship so that it remains safe and dry. Tankers Ships are built into a variety of shapes to suit whatever cargo they are designed to carry or the function they are designed to perform. Vehicles of all kinds are transported in ships called RO-RO carriers, which stands for roll on/roll off. Wheeled cargo, including cars, trucks, trailers and military vehicles, are transported on these ships. Ferries are a type of RO-RO vessel which travel shorter distances than their larger counterparts that come to the Port of Houston to deliver Volkswagens and other cars. These ships have a distinctive boxy look and can carry 6,000 or more vehicles. The U.S. military keeps several RO-RO vessels in the port s Turning Basin as a part of its military readiness plan. General Cargo Oil tankers also travel to the Port of Houston. Some tankers are too large to safely navigate the Houston Ship Channel. Instead, the liquid cargo, usually petroleum, is lightered or transferred to another vessel such as a barge or smaller tanker to be transported from the Gulf of Mexico up the Houston Ship Channel to a refinery. Container ships come in a variety of sizes, and their use is dependent on where they are traveling. If a ship is traveling from Asia to Houston, then it must fit through the Panama Canal. This size of ship is called a Panamax, which means the maximum size that fits through the Panama Canal. Larger ships are known as Post-Panamax and Super Post-Panamax. The Panama Canal is currently being expanded so that it can handle much larger ships. Larger container ships will be coming to the Port of Houston when this project is complete in Containers are a very convenient, safe and secure way to ship cargo. The first container ship was designed by trucking firm owner Malcolm McLean. He converted a tanker, the SS Ideal X, and its maiden voyage took it from the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal in New Jersey to the Port of Houston. Today, the Port of Houston is the largest container port in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, handling about 70 percent of the containerized cargo in the U.S. Gulf, and about 96 percent of the waterborne containers moving through Texas ports. Dredge Container Ships Another type of ship you will see working at the Port of Houston is a dredge. A dredge is used to remove silt and deepen a channel. Beyond the damage from storms, the Houston Ship Channel experiences constant silting from the Texas rivers that feed into it along with the bayous that carry stormwater to the channel. Silting alters the existing depth and width of the channel by raising the bed, causing situations where ships cannot transit the channel. Every business along the ship channel maintains the proper depth at their docks. The Port of Houston Authority constantly works with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the Houston Ship Channel to try to maintain it at its proper width and depth.

3 Historic Beginnings The Port of Houston is the largest U.S. port in terms of foreign tonnage and second in overall tonnage. Trade with 90 percent of the countries in the world has transformed Houston into an internationally recognized business center. The Allen brothers, Houston s founders, knew that without a port, the city would never thrive. In fact, without access to ocean and river shipping, very few towns have ever grown into cities. Private business interests pushed hard for many years for a deep-water port, with organizations such as the Houston Cotton Exchange leading the way. Cotton, lumber, rice, and other cargo from Houston needed to move to the Atlantic Coast and beyond. Several railroads converged in Houston, but without deep-water, only barges could move cargo as far as Galveston, where it had to be transferred onto oceangoing vessels, a costly and time-consuming process. Mother Nature s devastating force destroyed Galveston in 1900 and with it, the nation s leading cotton export port. When oil was discovered at Spindletop in 1901 and oil companies moved to Texas, the industry s chorus pleaded with Washington for a sheltered port. Houston Mayor Horace Baldwin Rice was devoted to the idea of deepwater for Houston, and along with U.S. Representative Tom Ball, moved the dream from an idea to reality. Houston succeeded in persuading the U.S. Congressional Rivers and Harbors Committee through the genius of Ball, who proposed that Houston share the cost of the project. The socalled Houston Plan became the precedent for federal projects ever since as it demonstrates local support for proposed projects. While the 52-mile-long Houston Ship Channel was dredged, the workers on the channel followed the developments of another important port project. The Panama Canal was dredged at the same time, and a vital link between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans was created. In 1914, all of Houston turned out to celebrate the newly dredged Houston Ship Channel. They knew what it meant to their young city, and the port delivered on that promise. The port grew steadily through the years, both the public docks and private businesses that line the ship channel are now numbering 150. More than 220 million tons of cargo move through this port every year. Economic studies show that ship channel-related businesses support more than 785,000 direct and indirect jobs throughout Texas while generating nearly $118 billion in economic impact. At least 80 percent of the direct jobs are here in Harris County. Additionally, more than $3.7 billion of state and local tax revenues are generated by business activities related to the port. Citizens get an astonishing return on their investment in the Port of Houston.

4 Tugs, Barges and Wharves The small but very powerful tugboats you see working at the Port of Houston are essential to the safe movement of ships and barges. By either pushing or towing, tugs maneuver ships thousands of times their weight safely to and from wharves. These vessels play an important role in managing the traffic in a busy port. Tugboat Barge Barges often do not have their own engines and rely on specialized tugs that lock into a barge and provide the propulsion. Because barges require less draft than cargo ships, they travel in special shallower barge lanes dredged on either side of the Houston Ship Channel. These barge lanes extend to the Gulf of Mexico where barges can access the Intracoastal Waterway and also the Mississippi River system and other inland rivers. Tugboats are sophisticated vessels that use advanced technology to control the different engines on board. They are highly maneuverable and can pull in any direction. A barge is a flat-bottomed boat that can carry very heavy cargo in shallow waters such as rivers. Each year, 150,000 barge transits are made at the Port of Houston. Different barges carry different kinds of cargo. Fuel bunkering barges pull up alongside ships to fill the ship s fuel tanks. Other barges are designed to move liquid cargo, grain, and containers. Barges move cargo within the port and also travel long distances. Grain Elevator Wharves Transit Shed Reefers Docks Each wharf or terminal along the Houston Ship Channel is designed to handle certain types of cargo. Grain elevators serve a specialized storage and transfer function. Open wharves are used for cargo that does not need protection from the weather, such as containerized cargo or steel. Transit sheds provide protection for cargo that is affected by rain and other types of weather. Perishable foods need access to refrigerated warehouses and travel on reefers, which are refrigerated ships. Dock 32 is designed to handle the heaviest and bulkiest cargo. Wharves at the refineries have pipes to transfer petroleum from ship to refinery safely and efficiently. In a port as large as Houston s, every kind of cargo can be moved.

5 Who Keeps the Port Safe? Safety and security is a priority at the Port of Houston. On the Houston Ship Channel, the U.S. Coast Guard is in charge. As a branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, the Coast Guard is charged with maintaining maritime safety and security. If an unauthorized boat enters the Houston Ship Channel, if a toxic substance is spilled into the channel, or if someone falls off of a ship, the Coast Guard responds. Coast Guard personnel may board ships, inspect cargo, and deny access to the port. The distinctive Coast Guard vessels patrol the ship channel on the lookout for unauthorized vessels and vessels in trouble. At the Port of Houston Authority facilities, the Port Police control access to the facilities and any security matters on the property. When you entered the Port Authority s property, you passed through a gate manned by security officers, who make sure that whoever enters the property is allowed to be here. Unfortunately, fires can happen at the port, either at a facility or on a ship. In 1926, the Port Authority acquired its first fireboat, and such boats have played an important role in fire and hazardous materials safety at the port ever since. The Port Authority s Marine Fire Department operates three fireboats from four stations on the Houston Ship Channel. The fireboats are stationed at different points along the channel so that they can swiftly respond to any incident whether at a Port Authority property or any of the marine terminals on the ship channel, including oil refineries. In addition to the fireboats, there is a fire engine and utility truck for hazardous material response located at Bayport. The Port Authority routinely works with the Coast Guard and the many businesses along the ship channel on safety and security matters. If something happens at the port, there is a coordinated response dependent on the type of incident. The Port Authority has a sophisticated security center where the appropriate law enforcement, marine safety and security partners can work together to handle whatever arises.