Port-au-Prince port damage complicates shipments to Haiti
Posted by
JAC on 1/13/2010, 4:31 pm
By MARTHA BRANNIGAN
mbrannigan(at)MiamiHerald.com
Damage to the port infrastructure at Port-au-Prince is complicating efforts to sail to the city.
The port cranes at Port-au-Prince were knocked into the water by Tuesday's devastating earthquake and ``we've been advised by U.S. military's Southern Command that a good portion of the pier has been destroyed,'' said Jay Brickman, vice president of government services for Crowley Maritime, which operates regular cargo service to Port-au-Prince from Port Everglades.
A Crowley ship that departed Port Everglades Wednesday will skip a port call in Port-au-Prince, because of uncertainty about access there, Brickman said. That ship normally carries some food and some cutouts of fabric for making clothing, he said.
The next Crowley ship bound for Haiti is scheduled to depart Port Everglades Friday, and Crowley continues to assess the situation, Brickman said.
``The situation in Haiti is very chaotic right now,'' Brickman said. Limited communications with the island is making it harder for shippers to determine how and where to participate in relief efforts.
Brickman said only ships carrying their own gear for unloading goods could effectively service Port-au-Prince now. However, with the pier damaged, ``even if a vessel with its own gear is there, the question is, can it dock in Port-au-Prince. There are certainly indications that has been heavily damaged as well.''
Brickman said Crowley, which is a major shipper in the Caribbean, is in talks with the Maritime Administration, USAID and the military's Southern Command about participating in relief efforts to Haiti. But a big question is how and where to get supplies into the island.
Brickman said mariners also must be concerned about the potential of debris that may have fallen into the water near Port-au-Prince and may be obstructing passage. ``We just don't know what the situation is,'' he said.
Other ports, such as Cap Haitian, are available, Brickman said, but the question becomes how would supplies be transported from those ports to Port-au-Prince, where the bulk of the damage occurred.
``The Maritime Administration and USAID are talking to us and other carriers who have U.S.-flagged equipment available -- U.S.-flagged vessels that can move cargo quickly. The big question is, move it to where? Because of the damage to Port-au-Prince's port infrastructure and the potential difficulty in accessing the Haitian capital by road from other cities.''
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