New Orleans - New Year Brings More Cruise Lines
January 04, 2006
New Orleans is making a Big comeback, but it's not altogether Easy. However, though it's been a long 4 months for many Gulf Coast residents since Katrina tore through the sea and into the Gulf, the clean-up and restoration of one of the nation's most important ports is progressing more quickly than some imagined. The return of the cruise lines is some evidence of that.
In fact, Saturday, New Year's Eve, a 600-passenger luxury ship, the Delphin Renaissance, was the first cruise ship to call on the Port of New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina. Many thought it would take much longer before a person would see anything resembling a pleasure cruise in New Orleans.
"It all came out as kind of a joke when someone told me, 'You won't have a ship in this port for six months,'" port chief Gary LaGrange recalled. "My response, with a lot of bravado, was, 'We'll be back at 70 percent within six months.'" With the help of many workers, engineers, citizens, and government officials, LaGrange is on course towards fulfilling his word.
With approximately $100 million in damage done to the port, and about three times as much to the port-dependent businesses, it was evident from the very beginning that there would be no quick fix. For instance, the portion of the port nearest the Industrial Canal, the site of devastating flooding---virtually nonexistent. "Thirty percent of the port is no longer in existence as we knew it Aug. 28," LaGrange said.
When you have a port that is ranked fifth among U.S. ports in tons of cargo handled, and 12th in total foreign trade, 30% is a substantial portion of U.S. shipping completely shut down. Still, cargo ships have been visiting New Orleans since September, albeit in much less of a significant capacity.
Imported steel, rubber and coffee are amongst the port's biggest commodities received its first post-storm ship Sept. 12, two weeks after Katrina. Just over three months later, the port is running at about half capacity, LaGrange said. Before Katrina hit Aug. 29, the Port of New Orleans was getting around 40 ship calls a week. Now, the count is half as much.
But with the arrival of the luxury vessel Delphin Renaissance, there will be a familiar and long-awaited sight in the Port. The Delphin Renaissance is on an around-the-world voyage; its cargo, passengers visiting New Orleans for New Year's Eve festivities before the ship sails. No doubt it wasn't only the passengers who were happy to see a new year---and a chance for a fresh start in New Orleans.
There's still a lot of work to be done in 2006, and likely beyond, aside from even physical reconstruction. Finding enough truck drivers and longshoresmen; getting cruise ships back on schedule; and keeping the Port's financial heartbeat alive even with severely diminished business are all difficult tasks in their own right.
But the steps New Orleans has made have been in the right direction. And, if you'll pardon the expression, the cruise ship's arrival will likely be like the opening of floodgates, as more and more cruise lines will come back to New Orleans.
So far, three cruise lines with homeports in New Orleans have pledged to return in 2006, officials said. Still, many obstacles yet remain---not only with the repairs needed for the ports, but for the city itself. Thousands remain homeless and lots of land is simply uninhabitable in not only New Orleans, but places like Biloxi, Gulfport, and Pascagoula, Mississippi; Mobile and Dauphin Island, Alabama; and several other towns and cities.
