T’bonne commission wants count on HNC traffic

In 1962 the Houma Navigational Canal was constructed as a 36.6-mile channel to link area businesses and offshore operations with the Gulf of Mexico and the Intracoastal Waterway.

Over the years plans and modifications have been made for the HNC, including a new flood gate project as part of the Morganza-to-the-Gulf program, dredging plans and recommendations for deepening the channel to accommodate larger loaded vessels as they return from offshore runs while returning property to landowners.

One thing that has not been done is complete tracking of the number of vessels along with the amount of cargo and fuel quantities that pass through the HNC every year and the economic impact they carry for the region.

Terrebonne Port Commission Executive Director David Rabalais knows that between January and the first week of September, there have been 3,597 ship tracks, recorded on 77 printout pages, that have passed through the waterway. What he does not know is how much product those vessels carried, the value of that cargo and how many jobs those vessels represent directly and indirectly with support businesses.

Rabalais said that having an economic impact report on the HNC would enhance federal funding for development and maintenance of the channel and would provide a positive selling card to attract more industry to the area.

The port commission head has approached the Terrebonne Economic Development Authority and the South Central Industrial Association for help in conducting research and compiling information that could be used by the port commission and economic development agencies as well to sell the region.

“I’m glad David brought it to us,” TEDA CEO Steve Vassallo said. “I think it will be good to know [the economic influence of the HNC] and it will be an effective recruitment tool.”

Rabalais approached Vassallo with his economic investigation last week, but TEDA has not yet had opportunity to develop a complete plan of action.

“All channels are ranked by the [U.S. Army Corps of Engineers],” Rabalais said. “They are ranked by tonnage. Well, in the oil and gas industry we don’t rank things by tonnage. We have commerce based on jobs, needs and the companies that work in the oil industries are more reluctant to give up information of what they have on their boats.”

Rabalais said having a complete report on actual shipping through the HNC would increase grading from the corps and offer a tool for economic development. “We got to get the word out,” he said.

“We need to have a concerted effort and we can use the SCIA and TEDA to start tracking that sort of stuff,” he continued. “We may have to change the system and get the corps to agree to treat oil and gas service channels different than they treat cargo channels. They are different. We want to show the utilization that we have in the channel to increase our ranking, because when funds are doled out to corps districts, funds are distributed according to need and according to rank.”

“When you look at the mix of what is out there, it is going to help us bring complimentary industry and business to those that are already there,” Vassallo said. “We don’t have a timeline yet for putting this together, but we need to put something together sooner than later.”

SCIA President Kirk Meche, who is also COO of Gulf Island Fabrication with access to the HNC and Intracoastal Waterway, was unable to return telephone calls with comment by press time.

“I need to go into the corps or any of those federal organizations and say, ‘Hey, I’m the Port of Terrebonne and I represent 10,000 jobs. Or I represent 15,000 jobs,'” Rabalais said. “Who knows how many [jobs there are]? My jurisdiction is all waterways in Terrebonne Parish. So I need to utilize that. It helps with security grants. We’re ranked as ‘all other ports.’ We don’t having a ranking. We are the bottom of the barrel and a lot of times we get cut out. We need to change that.”

Blake International is one of many marine service businesses that make use of direct access to both the Intracoastal Waterway and the Houma Navigational Canal. MIKE NIXON