Vol. 4, No. 5, October 2019
Keppel AmFELS, traditionally the port’s largest employer and the foremost U.S. offshore rig builder, recently won construction contracts for two container ships for Honolulu-based Pasha Hawaii, with options for two more. In the image above, construction on one of the two vessels can be seen at the Vessel Assembly and Erection Pad in Keppel's shipyard. Bottom Right: The final piece of the former floating nuclear power barge Sturgis is hauled away March 2019 by International Shipbreaking, Ltd.’s proud workers. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 
Building the Future From the Past
Editor's Note: This article is featured in the latest edition of the Port of Brownsville Directory
The Port of Brownsville knows shipbuilding and ship recycling, a combination of disciplines found nowhere else in the Lone Star State.

With shipbuilding DNA in its heritage, Keppel AmFELS is making waves at the Port of Brownsville. In late-April 2019, dignitaries participated in the ceremonial keel-laying of the M/V George III and the cutting of the first steel plate for the M/V Janet Marie. Delivery for both 774-foot-long vessels is set for 2020. 

Flanking Keppel AmFELS shipyard along the port’s ship channel are the nation’s leading ship recyclers, representing a legacy industry at the port. Together, they claim an estimated 85 percent of the nation’s ship recycling business, where U.S. Navy, U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) and commercial ships berth for the last time. 
Skilled steel scrap cutters earn good wages at the Port of Brownsville's three primary ship recycling yards.
Millions of tons of steel slab, plates, wire rod, hot and cold rolled steel (pictured) and other forms steadily flow from the Port of Brownsville's docks to Mexican manufacturers.
U.S. Steel Buys Stake in BRS
Company still considers the Port of Brownsville for new mill
U.S. Steel, the country’s second largest steel maker, has acquired a 49.9 percent ownership stake in Big River Steel, which is considering building a $1.6 billion steel mill at the Port of Brownsville.

The Brownsville facility would be Big River’s second flat-rolled steel mill. The first, in Osceola, Ark., began operations in early 2017. The company’s “Arkansas Flex Mill” is the world’s only LEED-certified steel mill and the newest and most technologically advanced flat-rolled mill in North America, according to BRS.
Rio Bravo Pipeline Project Advances
NextDecade Corporation and Enbridge Inc. announced September 18 a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly pursue the development of the Rio Bravo Pipeline and other natural gas pipelines in South Texas to transport natural gas to NextDecade’s proposed Rio Grande LNG project located at the Port of Brownsville.

Rio Bravo is designed to transport 4.5 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas from the Agua Dulce area to Rio Grande LNG.

NextDecade expects to build the proposed Rio Grande LNG plant on a 984-acre site, midway along the Port of Brownsville's 17-mile-long ship channel. At full build-out, the natural gas liquefaction plant could move up to 27 million tons of LNG annually. 
Port of Brownsville Hosts TSPE's Monthly Meeting
The Port of Brownsville hosted September 25th the monthly meeting of the Texas Society of Professional Engineers. Ariel Chavez, Director of Engineering for the port, presented to the group information on recent and upcoming projects including road improvements, the channel deepening, the port connector road, liquid cargo dock 6 construction an the rehabilitation of liquid cargo dock 3 and bulk cargo dock, among others.
BROWNSVILLE NAVIGATION DISTRICT COMMISSIONERS

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Vice-Chairman

Secretary

Commissioner

Commissioner
PORT OF BROWNSVILLE ADMINISTRATION

Port Director & CEO


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Ph:  956.831.4592 / 800.378.5395
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CALENDAR
October 2
BND Board Meeting

October 8-10

October 9
Yom Kippur

October 13-16

October 14
Columbus Day

October 23
BND Board Meeting

October 31
Halloween

November 1
All Saints Day

November 2
All Souls Day

November 3
Daylight Saving Time ends - Turn clocks back one hour

November 6
BND Board Meeting

November 11
Veterans Day - Port offices closed

November 13-14

November 20
BND Board Meeting

November 28
Thanksgiving - Port offices closed Nov. 28-29
Brownsville SPI Airport Terminal Reaches Milestone
The Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport recently celebrated the installation of the final steel beam in a traditional "topping out" ceremony, marking a big milestone for construction of a new passenger terminal.

The $43.8 million, 91,000-square-foot terminal project broke ground in late 2016 and is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of 2020. Construction remains on schedule and within budget, according to Airport Director Bryant Walker, who noted that roughly 95,000 man-hours have gone into the project so far.
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