Extra-heavy cargo
A 267-metric-ton tank on its way to a petrochemical plant is handled at a Port Houston facility
T he floating crane raised a 267-metricton tank and carefully sailed it to a nearby barge. After a 8,155mile voyage aboard the Bahri Hofuf ship, this cargo was preparing for one final journey: Down the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and to a petrochemical plant.
This piece of equipment, called a pressure vessel, is one of the heaviest items to be moved by Saudi Arabiabased Bahri, a logistics and transportation company that opened a Houston office last year.
“It’s much larger than any run of the mill, everyday lift that we have,” said Roger Guenther, executive director of Port Houston. The ship was unloaded at a Port Houston facility.
Over the past 18 months, Bahri has moved a lot of project cargo from the Middle East to petrochemical plants along the Gulf Coast. This type of business has been a focus for the company since 2013 when it received new vessels better suited for project cargo.
“This market segment was more profitable than, say, the container segment which we had participated more in the past,” said Stephen Blowers, senior country manager for Bahri
Logistics.
Project cargo requires technical know-how and expertise to ship. Providing these services allows companies like Bahri to charge higher freight rates.
The average freight rate for containers, on the other hand, has been driven down as larger ships carry more containers.
Bahri vessels don’t typically need a floating crane to unload project cargo. Equipment on the ship can unload items weighing up to 240 metric tons. That made Wednesday’s move special.
“It was a very exciting move,” said Clifford Kuhfeldt, a regional manager for sales at Bahri Logistics. “It went off without a hitch.”
Such cargo helped Port Houston report a record-setting 2017 for cargo tonnage and number of containers.
Port Houston facilities handled 38.3 million tons of cargo last year, surpassing the previous record of 37.8 million tons set in 2014.
Its container business likewise increased 13 percent to 2.46 million TEUs, an industry term that measures a container ship’s capacity in 20-footequivalent containers. The previous record set in 2016 was for 2.18 million TEUs.
Guenther said it was a banner year for revenue and cash flow, too, and that money will be invested back into Port Houston facilities.
“The fact that we’re able to handle this tremendous growth in cargo is significant,” he said, “and we’re planning to stay ahead of the demand curve with our facilities so we can capture this growth.”