For immediate release

August 7, 2007

            A new Command and Control Center and a massive ship's propeller that will serve as a memorial to the Southeast Texas Maritime industry were officially dedicated by U.S. Congressman Ted Poe in ceremonies at the Port of Beaumont August 7.

    Left to right: U.S. Congressman Ted Poe, 

Port commissioners Georgine Guillory, 

Nell Clark, vice president of the board

H.M. "Henry" Nix, Lee Smith.

The Command and Control Center enables the port to maintain safety and security while strictly controlling access to the commercial and strategic marine facilities.  The Command and Control Center includes two major components, the Operations Center and the Access Control Facility.

            Operations Center - Offices and operations facilities for Port Authority Police.

·         2,800 square foot building

·         Funded in part by a $400,000 port security grant from the Department of Homeland Security

·         The LaBiche Architectural Group, Architect

·         Bruce's General Construction, General Contractor

·         Watch/monitoring area for main gate officers

·         Conference/training room

·         Secure area for port police in severe weather (storm room)

·         Independent emergency power generator

·         Advanced communications equipment

            Access Control Facility - Adjacent to the Operations Center, the new gates feature three hydraulic wedge barriers under a lighted, weather-protection awning, that allows port police to monitor and control traffic access.

·         Funded by a $1.4 million port security grant from the Department of Homeland Security

·         Improves efficiency and security of vehicular access

·         Access facility for all port traffic

·         Designed to accommodate oversize cargo

·         Bruce's General Construction, General Contractor

·         Lanier & Associates, Engineers

·         17 feet of vertical clearance

·         Traffic lanes 14 and 18 feet wide

·         Retractable vehicle barriers

·         Overhead canopy provides protection from weather

·         Fencing and gate improvements

            The giant propeller, which was built for a petroleum tanker with ties to Southeast Texas, is located near the new Command and Control Center.  The 80,000 pound propeller is mounted on a pedestal and illuminated for night viewing.  It will  provide visitors to the port with a lasting reminder of the area's maritime heritage.  

            The huge propeller, which is 21 feet in diameter, is on loan to the port from the United States Maritime Administration.  In June, the propeller was lifted onto a concrete pedestal using a giant crane.

            The five-blade bronze propeller was built for the 35,000 deadweight-ton tanker Gulf Prince, which began service in 1957 for the Gulf Oil Corporation.  The Gulf Prince was one of four identical tankers commissioned by Gulf Oil and built by Bethlehem Shipyard in Sparrows Point, Maryland.  At 630 feet in length, the ship was a large tanker for her day.  Her sister ships were the Gulf King, Gulf Queen, and Gulf Knight.

            In 1984, the Gulf Prince was acquired by the Maritime Administration, renamed the American Osprey, and placed into service in that agency's National Defense Reserve Fleet.   After her acquisition by the Maritime Administration, the ship saw service in Southeast Texas, the Far East and during Operation Desert Storm.  In 1999, the American Osprey was deactivated and is now in the Beaumont Reserve Fleet awaiting disposal.

            The giant propeller required a massive foundation to be built alongside the main entrance to the port.  A 10-foot pedestal holds the propeller at a 75-degree angle, which affords maximum visibility to motorists passing on Main Street nearby.

             The base for the pedestal measures 28 feet square, and contains 45 cubic yards of concrete.  The foundation was designed by the port's consulting engineer, Lanier & Associates and built by Bo-Mac Contractors Ltd.  U.S. Flag and Flagpole Supply placed the propeller on the pedestal, using a 240-ton crane. 

            Installation of the propeller was the culmination of several years of efforts by port officials to obtain a suitable maritime artifact honoring the area's maritime history.  After requesting the loan of a propeller from the Maritime Administration, a suitable one was found in early 2005, in storage at a shipyard in Mobile, AL.  The port made arrangements to have the propeller shipped by truck from Alabama to Beaumont, but hurricanes Katrina and Rita intervened to delay the project. 

            Moving such a large object overland proved to be too expensive and risky for the transportation infrastructure on the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast, and the Maritime Administration proposed an alternative means of delivering the propeller.  One of the agency's ships, a barge-carrier called the Cape Farewell, was in the same shipyard in Mobile where the propeller was stored, and was soon to sail back to Southeast Texas after undergoing repairs.  So the port made arrangements to have the shipyard load the propeller into a barge, which was carried on board the Cape Farewell and later discharged for transfer to the port.  Kirby Inland Marine provided a tug to move the barge to the port, and a huge harbor crane lifted the much-traveled propeller onto the wharf with the help of longshoremen from International Longshoremen's Association locals 21 and 1316, and supervision from the port's stevedore contractor, P.C. Pfeiffer Co. 

            Once on the dock, Steel Painters, Inc. sandblasted and coated the propeller with a protective marine paint to protect it from the elements. 

            The Port of Beaumont is a public deepwater ocean port located about 40 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico.  The port handles both commercial and military cargo, and has been designated as a strategic seaport by the U.S. government.  More than 1.25 million tons of military cargo have been shipped through the port in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.  The Port of Beaumont is one of the busiest ports in the world for military cargo, second only to the port of Ash Shuaybah in Kuwait.  The port was recently ranked by the Department of Homeland Security as a Tier I port, which places it among ports with the highest risk potential and gives it priority for future security grant awards.

            As a strategic seaport and Tier I port, the Port of Beaumont has been awarded more than $6 million in seven rounds of grants by the Department of Homeland Security.  In addition to the new command and control facilities, the port has used the grants to provide automated land and waterside surveillance systems, lighting and fencing improvements, interoperable communications equipment, a patrol boat and other security enhancements. 

For more information, contact John Roby, Port of Beaumont, 409/835-5367, jrr@portofbeaumont.com