CMA-CGM containership Orca, on her maiden voyage from China, was turned away from its much-heralded first call at Houston's Bayport terminal December 7 when the port authority announced that the problem-plagued facility was still not ready to discharge cargo, reports the Houston Chronicle.
The US$1.2 billion container terminal was supposed to open in the summer, but the date was pushed back until the latest opening date last week. In a statement in advance of the opening, the port authority announced a new opening some time in January. It was not immediately clear what the reason for the delay is, said the Chronicle.
CMA-CGM, a French company, is the first tenant at the Bayport terminal. Construction of the Bayport terminal began in June 2004. Once all the phases are completed, the terminal will be able to handle seven container vessels and will have a 378-acre storage yard.
The new container terminal is required to ease congestion at the 30-year-old Barbours Cut Terminal, which is said to have been operating at 150 per cent of capacity. Port officials say Bayport's first phase will absorb 25 per cent of its workload.
Marinetime Global Net
Login
