New Orleans sets monthly containership record

New Orleans sets monthly containership record    A record number of containerships arrived at the Port of New Orleans in September.
   The Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal worked 43 container vessels, an all time record, and 47 are expected in October, said Gary LaGrange port president and chief executive officer.
   Carriers and vessels handled in September were: Mediterranean Shipping Co. (17 vessels), Hapag-Lloyd (12), Seaboard Marine (eight), Maersk (five) and CMA CGM (one).
   Hapag-Lloyd added a new vessel to its Mediterranean service into New Orleans in September. The new vessel bolsters an already bustling container business at the port.
   The port's first half throughput is 60 percent ahead of the first six months of 2009, and the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal is on pace to top 400,000 TEUs for the year.
   The port said it is working to expand capacity and services at Napoleon. Two additional 65-long-ton container gantry cranes should be delivered in 2011 at an estimated cost of $26.5 million. The cranes will allow terminal operators to work larger vessels more efficiently.
   Also, the Board of Commissioners of the Port awarded initial contracts in July for the Napoleon Avenue Terminal Stage 'C' expansion. The $11.8 million project aims to make the facility larger and more efficient.