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lost during Hurricane Katrina. While initially we will not
have the amount square footage that we had prior to the
storm, this does allow Mississippi poultry’s producers an
opportunity to evaluate export options without having to
go to competing ports.
The Port’s new facilities may also play a role in Mississippi’s
automotive exports as we continue discussions with both
Toyota and Nissan.
Q.
What do these investments mean for the next level
of export and import opportunities for Mississippi
companies and what other industries does the Port of
Gulfport hope to see in the coming years?
A. We would certainly like to be stronger in the state’s
natural resources products like wood-related commodities.
We have signed a letter of intent with a bio-fuels company
that exports wood pellets. This certainly shows that
Gulfport is not purely focused on handling only the
container traffic that is moving into and out of the state.
We are also a very strong bulk facility and our tenant,
DuPont, is a great example of a tenant utilizing those
capabilities.
Recent upgrades in the Kansas City Southern Lines between
Gulfport and Hattiesburg will allow Mississippi’s importers
and exporters an opportunity to access high speed rail.
Once a product arrives to Hattiesburg, it can spread out on
the Canadian National Railway or Norfolk Southern Railway,
accessing all parts of the state as well as the rest of the
United States and Canada.
Q.
Over the past year, the Port of Gulfport has
diversified its tenant base. What does it mean for the
Port to have McDermott International as a new tenant?
What does that mean for the state of Mississippi?
A.
The Port of Gulfport signed in on our first new maritime
tenants since 1999 and they are right in line with the
port’s diversification strategy. We have been extremely
reliant on international cargo flows in the past. These two
new tenants will move us in the direction of ship-building
activities as well as lead us into the ever-important oil
and gas industry. The first new tenant is a company called
Gulf Coast Shipyard Group which is a Mississippi-based
company.
Our second tenant is McDermott International, a UK-based
company with US headquarters in Houston. McDermott
may produce pipe or instillation in the oil fields in the Gulf
of Mexico and worldwide. We will also serve as their marine
base of operations where vessels that service the Gulf of
Mexico and other locations will import via Gulfport.
This is a significant departure of what traditionally has been
our core business at the Port and provides us with more
diversification as well as jobs that are production-level. This
