Ports Association of Louisiana

Port of Lake Charles: Pulp Finds New Home at the Port of Lake Charles

Lake Charles Cargo Terminals (LCCT), a Division of Gearbulk Shipping Ltd. announced recently at a special board meeting of the Lake Charles Harbor and Terminal District that Gearbulk will begin carrying wood pulp to the Port of Lake Charles. Mr. Anthony Damron, General Manager of the LCCT operation in Lake Charles addressed the seven member Board of Directors for the Lake Charles Harbor and Terminal District at the May 29th meeting.

“On behalf of LCCT and Gearbulk it is my pleasure to inform you that effective with the arrival of the M/V “Raven Arrow” at the Port of Lake Charles on June 26, 2007, Gearbulk’s inbound tonnage will increase due to the agreement reached between Gearbulk and Votorantim Celulose e Papel (VCP) to carry wood pulp from Paranagua, Brazil to Lake Charles, Louisiana.” said Mr. Damron. “There was a great deal of time and energy put into the negotiation of this agreement and LCCT feels one major factor that convinced our customer to send their wood pulp to Lake Charles occurred after visiting the Port’s facilities and walking through the new transit sheds #16 & #17(which total 200,000 square feet). VCP representatives were impressed with the new facilities, plans for future development and attitude at the Port of Lake Charles” he went on to say.

VCP is located in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and has a US office in Baltimore, MD. The wood pulp is manufactured using wood fiber from managed plantation operations. After the wood pulp is received in Lake Charles, under the direction of LCCT, Lake Charles longshoremen will transfer the pulp from transit sheds into rail cars, which will be delivered to the end user in the State of Oregon.

Mark Abraham, President of the Lake Charles Harbor and Terminal District said, “This is very exciting news for the Port of Lake Charles and Gearbulk, this announcement really does give validation to the strategic capital plan developed and presented to the Board by Adam McBride, our Port Director. Modern and efficient facilities make it possible for steamship lines like Gearbulk to entice additional cargos to the Port. It is our understanding that starting with the arrival of the Raven Arrow, Gearbulk expects to carry about 10,000 to 15,000 metric tons of pulp into Lake Charles through the end of this year. However, for the shipping period of 2008, Gearbulk tells us it will carry 60,000 to 90,000 tons of pulp to Lake Charles; an increase of over 40% in total annual volume of cargo carried by Gearbulk into Lake Charles. Expanding the Port’s cargo base through diversification of cargo will assist the Port with future growth,” Abraham added.

Gearbulk is an international shipping company providing high quality transportation and logistics services for various industrial sectors. The company is a leading carrier of unitized forest products and non-ferrous metals, and operates the world’s largest fleet of open hatch gantry craned (OHGC) vessels, controlling approximately 35% of the world’s OHGC vessel capacity. With two traveling gantry cranes serving perfectly box shaped holds, these vessels are specifically designed and equipped to transport unitized cargoes. Gearbulk conducts operations on a worldwide basis through a network of offices located in 16 countries and using over 500 agents. Gearbulk employs about 270 staff in representative and branch offices. The North American headquarters is located in Tampa, Florida.

The Lake Charles Harbor and Terminal District is the 12th largest Port District in the United States and is located on the Calcasieu Ship Channel in Southwest Louisiana. The Lake Charles Harbor and Terminal District is governed by a seven member Board of Commissioners. To learn more about the Port of Lake Charles and the surrounding area, visit the Port’s website at www.portlc.com.