Louisiana Offshore Oil Port
Founded in 1984 by port directors around the state, the Ports Association of Louisiana (PAL) was started with the idea that great things can happen when people work together in common cause.
"We determined that we needed to create a trade association that would promote all the ports of Louisiana as a representative group for all issues -- not only dredging, but all issues we had together," said Gary LaGrange, PAL's first president and current executive director.
LaGrange was director of the Port of West St. Mary at the time of PAL's inception. Creating the association was a way to utilize the power of numbers to advocate port concerns at the state and federal level, he said. PAL lobbies for legislative support of issues ranging from dredging to mitigation, infrastructure development to land banking found at the 32 ports in Louisiana.
"Our primary function is bringing everyone together," LaGrange said. "It's a very coordinated effort to get a unified message out to public and elected officials -- and the general public as a whole -- as to what Louisiana ports do."
One quarter of all U.S. imports and exports travel through Louisiana's waterways and ports. The Lower Mississippi River, the fourth-longest river on Earth, is significant to both the state and national economy. In Louisiana, the Lower Mississippi River makes up the largest port system in the world with five ports: the ports of Baton Rouge, South Louisiana, New Orleans, St. Bernard and Plaquemines. In one year's time, these ports alone constitute 500 million tons of cargo, 12,000 ship movements in and out of the Lower Mississippi River, and 500,000 barge movements.
Dredging helps keep this flow of transportation possible because "shipping never stops."
Benefits of dredging
Keeping water transportation alive is essential to the economic benefits of ports, and dredging helps make this possible.
"The port is worthless if you don't have waterborne access and egress," LaGrange explained. "That's why you need dredging: to maintain your competitive edge with those other ports that are constantly dredging, to reach the benefits of the cargo, and to cope with the onset of manufacturing new and larger ships that require a deeper water draft and more dredging."
He noted specific dredging is used for different conditions of spoil. Dustpan dredging is commonly used for areas where dredge spoil is light and sandy, generally found upriver and farther inland. On the other hand, a cutterhead or hopper dredge is used for thicker, heavier dredge spoil often found farther south, where mud and silt accumulate.
Although dredging can be expensive, the benefits outweigh the costs, LaGrange said. This is because ports have a tremendous impact on the economy at local, state and national levels.
Because of far-reaching ties across industry, one out of every five jobs in Louisiana can be attributed to port activities. About 165,000 people in Louisiana have gainful employment because of the ports of Louisiana, and LaGrange simply calls that "phenomenal."
Of the more than 350 American ports, only a handful have reached current ideal cargo dredge depths, he said. Needed dredge depths change over time as manufacturers continue to create larger, deeper ships that require greater depth for travel.
By dredging to proper depths, ports can continue generating jobs and allowing for the efficient transportation of goods on a global scale, boosting the economy and aiding industry.
"Dredging must be maintained in order to realize the true value of positive economic consequences and growth, with a cost-benefit ratio ranging from 25:1 to 84:1," LaGrange said.
For more information, visit www.portsoflouisiana.org or call (225) 334-9040.
