Port of Gulfport

PORT OF GULFPORT

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PORT OF GULFPORT

I PROFILE

The Port of Gulfport stretches along the Mississippi Sound, covering 300 acres of deepwater and 116 acres of inland facilities. Following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, enormous efforts have been made to restore the port to its former glory. Now, with the final building complete, the Port of Gulfport is implementing a strategic master plan. CEO & Executive Director Jon Nass explained more, in an exclusive interview. Report written

by Imogen Ward.

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W

hen Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005,

it devastated the Southeastern States of America and was esti-

mated to have caused more than $100 billion in damage. Located in Gulfport, Mississippi, the Port of Gulfport was one of many that were heavily affected by this natural disaster. Now, 18 years later, with the help of an impressive government grant of nearly $600 million, the port’s restoration is complete.

“We worked hard and reconstructed our entire port,” CEO & Executive Director Jon Nass explained. “On October 13, 2023, we cut the ribbon on the Roger F. Wicker

Center for Ocean Enterprise building,

Implementing the plan

which was the last piece of the restora-

The master plan gave the port the perfect

tion project.”

opportunity to assess its strengths and

Quick to act, the port is already utilizing

weaknesses, to decipher where future

the space and has lots of plans in place for

investments would be best spent. This led

the building going forward – the main one

to the realization that significant portions

revolving around blue economy activities.

of the port were being underutilized.

As the second-largest importer of green

“Terminal 4, (which covered 38 acres

fruit in the whole of the U.S., the Port of Gulfport

of land), was vacant, and it became clear

is always on the search for new opportuni-

that we needed to get that space up and

ties to advance its market-leading position.

running,” said Mr. Nass. “We entered into

In line with this commitment, the port recently

a deal with Ports of America, the largest

implemented a new strategic master plan

stevedoring company in the U.S., which

that lays out its goals for the next five to

eventually led to a long-term lease and an

ten years.

impressive private investment of $43 million.

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PORT OF GULFPORT

I PROFILE

That lease is going well so far, and they

“We brought in the experts, and we really

have ordered a new gantry crane, which

thought they were going to tell us it was

will take our total to four by 2025.”

a bad idea, but they did the opposite. They

After realizing that there was a significant

found there to be a desert of publicly avail-

lack of publicly available large-scale cold

able cold storage between New Orleans

storage facilities across the entirety of

and Mobile. On top of that, the average

Mississippi, and with a significant amount

age of cold storage in the U.S. is around 48

of its imports reliant upon this amenity,

years old. If you consider how much refrig-

the port recently made the decision to

erators have evolved over the past 50

invest in cold storage also.

years, it becomes shockingly apparent just

“The joke in the industry is that the cold chain is hot,” Mr. Nass continued. “It would

how outdated these facilities are.”

After coming to this realization, the port

be remiss of us to ignore that, especially as

put in motion talks with several major

the second largest importer of green fruit.

companies and has since begun negoti-

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ations for a lease that will incorporate up

“Especially when the size of ships keeps

to 150,000 square feet of climate-con-

increasing: we want to be able to accom-

trolled warehousing, located less than

modate this growth.”

two miles from the port.

Another important element of the

The feasibility study will effectively assess whether the cost of deepening the channel

strategic master plan will see the port’s

will be balanced by the economic benefits.

channel dredged to accommodate future

The port is confident that this will be the

growth. A feasibility study is currently

case and plans to spend the following

underway with the United States Army

years designing and executing the project.

Corps of Engineers to decipher whether the channel can be enlarged.

Further investment

“We currently have 36 feet of water,

Already amassing an impressive acreage,

which is good for business now but not so

the port has the opportunity to extend

good for the future,” Mr. Nass explained.

once more. As a strategic port for the U.S.

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PORT OF GULFPORT

I PROFILE

Department of Defense, the Port of Gulfport

As part of its strategic master plan, the

is always prepared for the import of military

port has recently signed a Memorandum

equipment and intends to remain so

of Understanding (MOU) with Canadian

going forward.

National Railway, establishing a new

“We currently have an opportunity to

intermodal service to Chicago and

extend our operations directly south by 197

parts of Canada. This MOU is a crucial

acres,” Mr. Nass enthused. “We already

development for the port, allowing it to

have the U.S. Army Corps permits in hand

double-stack containers and transport

for this, and it would be a considerable

refrigerated goods.

improvement – providing more space for layout and storage.”

The East Pier is positively buzzing

Committing to sustainability Having a young facility has been advanta-

with activity after high-tech water drone

geous for the Port of Gulfport when it comes

manufacturer Ocean Aero relocated its

to improving its environmental impact.

headquarters and manufacturing facili-

Today, the port is heavily electrified, with

ties to the site.

more than 2,300 reefer plugs positioned

“The partnership with Ocean Aero has

across the site. All the gantry cranes located

been really exciting,” said Mr. Nass:

at the port also run on electricity and

“Whilst working with the company on its

self-generate about 20% of their energy

new facilities, we quadrupled its manu-

requirements as they operate.

facturing capacity.

“We also have another 200,000 square

“All of our piers have been constructed using armor stone, which is perfect for the

foot warehouse on the East Pier that is

development of aquatic life as it creates

ready for long-term leasing.”

this incredible habitat,” Mr. Nass continued.

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“We have also been working closely with the Department of Marine Resources, which oversees an oyster bed reseeding program from our port. They are making some great efforts to enhance the population following the bp oil spill a few years back, releasing the oysters back into the Mississippi Sound.”

The port takes its role as a public entity very seriously and understands the need for a strong Environmental, Sustainability, and Governance (ESG) plan.

“It’s important to our customers’ business, it’s important to our business, and we know that we need to take it seriously,” said Mr. Nass. “That’s why we are actively developing new sustainability plans.”

When reflecting on the port, Mr. Nass’ passion and dedication really shone through: “I’ve been to ports all over the world, and ours really outshines. It’s clean, and you can tell that the folks here have pride in what they do. We hold a great responsibility having Port of Gulfport in our care.”

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