So what is the status of the port of New Orleans which is being leased?

[AlGore-08.com]

Is it fully repaired? Partially repaired? Is part of this lease include the contract to rebuild the port?

Anybody know?

[Crazy Dave]

1. I don't know but I can guarantee

That it will have to be completely rebuilt with tax payer money or have that as a condition before anybody signs a contract and has to pay for it out of their pocket

[juajen]

2. I could be wrong, but

I don't believe the port sustained serious damage. Someone please correct me if I'm memory deficient.

[Crazy Dave]

3. I have no idea either

But you wouldn't sign a lease on a damaged apartment and the condition that you would have to pay for the repairs yourself.

[AlGore-08.com]

4. No, but plenty of folks buy "fixer-uppers" and flip them

I'm just wondering if this is even a factor what's going on...

[Crazy Dave]

5. A fixer-upper where the home is the actual investment

But not a lease or any other business deal. Unless there is tax breaks and other Bush family ties that would benefit the UAE, I'm positive although can not prove, that the UAE won't do anything without getting something in return many times over.

[froshty1960]

6. New Orleans

What a lot of people don't know is that the Port of New Orleans covers a huge amount of territory. After Katrina, some of the Terminals and berths (mainly along France Rd.) were no longer deep enough to handle big vessels and some adjustments have been made to deal with that. For example, containers that were unloaded, stored, and loaded at the terminal operated by APM Terminals (owned by AP Moeller, which also owns Maersk-Sealand) are now being handled on the part of the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal that is operated by Ceres Gulf (a subsidiary of NYK, a shipping and logistics company from Japan). This is because vessels cannot call at the former APM Terminal because it is too full of silt to handle deep water vessels. The other part of the Terminal is managed by P&O, which also has breakbulk and other cargo operations at Nashville Avenue. Most of the people who work for Ceres Gulf and P&O in New Orleans are natives of New Orleans. However, Dubai World has a history of "cleaning house" after they take over a company. They fired a number of high-level execs when they took over CSX. So, the future's not bright for some of the people who work for P&O Ports, Louisiana.

The Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal, which is sandwiched between the Milan Street Wharf and the Nashville Avenue wharves, sustained very little damage. When the Terminal was built, the most amazing flood walls (2 layers) I've ever seen were built around it. Vessels have been calling at the Terminal since about September 21. The software used to manage the Terminal's two yards has been operational since October and the software that controls truck entry

By January 9, the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal was seeing traffic that was about 75% of pre-Katrina traffic.

You might be wondering how I know all this - my company designed and built the software that automated the gate for the Napoleon Aveneu Terminal (it controls truck entry) and I worked on that site for a nearly a year. I handle the help desk for truck lines that need to learn the system.

[juajen]

7. Thank you for that information

I thought everything was ok with the NO port. Living in So. Louisiana we are a littl bit more informed than nationally, or, maybe, it's just that we are paying more attention. NO is our beloved sister, and we are still grief stricken.

[froshty1960]

8. Me, too

I'm a North Carolina native, but I spent over 20 weeks in New Orleans in 2003 and have been there 11 times since 2003. I was lucky because I worked side by side with P&O's employees and they treated me well, showing me parts of the city that tourists don't see. There's something about New Orleans that gets in the blood of most southerners because I came to love the city and its people and my heart broke after Katrina. I am encouraged by the fact that many of the truck lines that I worked with before Katrina have managed to survive and are able to work the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal but my heart still hurts over what happened to one of the country's most intriguing, fascinating, and poignant cities.

By the way, my sister just spent two weeks there helping clean up and doing sketches for a series of paintings she's going to do about the aftermath of Katrina.