Naomi B. Jones
March 11, 2008Exhibits
March 13, 2008
The governor of the Mexican state of Yucatan was in Morgan City Monday to help announce a deal that opens a transportation corridor between the Port of Morgan City and the Port of Progresso in Mexico.
Just three months after Cenac Offshore LLC leased the Port of Morgan City terminal facility, the company has signed a deal with GPI Shipping of Merida, Mexico to develop a shipping line between the two countries through the Morgan City port.
“The development of this ship line is the primary reason the governor is here today,” said Roger Beaudean, Cenac Offshore’s general manager. “This shipping line will provide a new alternative for present producers moving products to the United States.”
Cenac has only been at the port since Dec. 1, 2007, when the company signed a 15-year lease to operate the Young’s Road terminal facility. Cenac’s president, Arlen “Benny” Cenac, started the company in 2006. The Cenac president made headlines recently when he sold Cenac Towing LLC in February for cash and stock worth approximately $500 million.
The alliance between Cenac Offshore and GPI Shipping will allow small producers to ship their goods to the United States and vice versa through Morgan City.
“This is a new business that does not exist today and helps small business on both ends get their products to market,” explained Beaudean during a Monday luncheon. “We wanted to establish a modern, efficient and effective general cargo mini-ship line to service Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America through the Port of Morgan City.”
Beaudean claims he is confident that other economic announcements will be forthcoming as a result of the new shipping line.
On hand for Monday’s announcement was Ivonne Ortega Pacheco, governor of the state of Yucatan. She toured the area with Cenac officials and addressed a crowd of more than 100 business and government leaders.
As the first woman ever elected to the office of governor in Mexico, the 35-year-old leader took office seven months ago. She won her seat by an overwhelming margin and vowed to protect foreign companies from unfair criticism or factors that might put a project in danger.
“I will stay in office for five more years,” she told the crowd in Spanish. “Therefore, if you start a project today, you will have the assurances of a government for the first five years of your project – years that are crucial to the take-off of an investment.”
The Port of Progresso is located in Pacheco’s jurisdiction.
The assurances of the Mexican governor were well received by Benny Cenac, who said his company plans to “commit serious dollars” to the new container-freight business.
“We are committed to making it work. We have committed to try to grow this business and to grow the economic development of Morgan City and the surrounding area,” said Cenac. “One of the things we have also committed to is to try to bring St. Mary and Terrebonne Parish together a little bit more and bring a lot of economic development to both areas.”
Beaudean also sees the multi-parish implications.
“In our minds the Port of Morgan City runs from Bayou Black in Gibson in Terrebonne Parish to at a minimum the Calumet Cut in St. Mary Parish (just west of Patterson),” he said. “Everything that moves by barge from Houston Texas to New Orleans and beyond must travel through the Port of Morgan City.”
Beaudean hopes to have the new shipping line up and running by the end of 2008.
Just three months after Cenac Offshore LLC leased the Port of Morgan City terminal facility, the company has signed a deal with GPI?Shipping of Merida, Mexico to develop a shipping line between the two countries through the Morgan City port. * Photo courtesy of the PORT OF MORGAN CITY
