serving america’s heartland

SERVING AMERICA’S HEARTLAND

)RT OFHOUSTON

The tremendous, throbbing heartland of America--where a major portion ofthe national production originates and where imports are consumed in ever-increasing quantities--is most economically served by the Port of Houston.We are even competitive for many commodity classifications to the WestCoast. Talk to one of our representatives, let him check the rates for you andsee for yourself that the Port of Houston is the best port for your cargoes.

PORT OF HOUSTON OFFICES ARE AS NEAR AS YOUR TELEPHONEHOUSTON NEW YORK CITYGeorge W. Altvater Edward P. MooreGeneral Sales Manager District Sales ManagerJohn R. Weiler Frank WardDistrict Sales Manager Assistant Sales ManagerC. A. Rousser 25 BroadwayDistrict Sales Representative Phone BOwling Green 9-77471519 Capitol Ave.Telephone CA 5-0671

CHICAGOHume HendersonDistrict Sales managerBoard of Trade BuildingTelephone WEbster 9-6228

Always Specify the

PORT 017",r 1 xII()(IS

Pride of the Gulf

2 PORT OF HOUSTON MAGAZINE

~IJlllilJ IHtlllJlJlll lllllJ I I IiI lil IJ IIII I I I l!lil I:I lilllllJ I l]llil I HIIIII,I lil l!lllJ]J I[III II I lil!1111 lll!lil I IHIIII!HIII l!l’,lllIlll lil llllllI!lil!lllllll HIIIIIII lil!ItlJlillil:lllllil!lililll]lllil] lllllJl lilill [ l i II I I I IIILIIIIIIIII!IIIIIIHII$11111 III[11111~

-- Expedite Your Shipments -°_=

o

V=a Manchester

- _=~ Ample Storage Space _ ~= =z ---

Large concrete warehouses and gentle- handling insure the best of care for =-- your cargo. -

--- z

z --

: Ample Unloading Space = -== It’s easy for ships, trucks and rail cars-- to load and unload cargo with no delay.---- z

-- z-- Z

_=-- Quick Handling - - -z- Experience, modern equipment and con- -- crete wharves conveniently located to --- warehouses mean quicker service. -

= Manchester’s modern convenient facilities include: -

~_ ¯ Concrete wharves ¯ Automatic sprinkler system __--- ¯ Two-story transit sheds ¯ Large outdoor storage area --_~ ¯ High-density cotton compresses ¯ Rapid truck loading and unloading = -

=-- ¯ Modern handling methods and equipment ~_

_- For complete cargo handling service, use Manchester Terminal. ==

--= Manchester Terminal Corporation --Z

= P.O. Box 52278 General Office: CA 7-3296- =- Houston, Texas, 77052 Wharf Office: WA 6-9631

I~lifllilil]il~I!IHII!H III Iii I I II II1111 i lll lift H II Ill Ill II H llll IJ II II lil I I I I I:t I I I I liH I I I IJH I I IHII bl I]ilil I I I lill1111H] [ I I lil I I I I I~1111 I] lil t I I I~1!1 [I I!1[11111HII H II IIl!lil I I Hill II I!11111!11i1!15111!1111~11151~~

AUGUST, 1965 3

Area Code 713

CA 4 6076One Houston telephone number assures

your shipments direct access to the Azores

¯ Morocco ̄ Spain ¯ Italy ¯ Tunisia ¯ Libya

¯ Greece ¯ Turkey ¯ Egypt ¯ Jordan ¯ Sudan

¯ Ethiopia ¯ French Somaliland ¯ Iran ¯ Iraq

¯ East and West Pakistan ¯ India ¯ Ceylon

¯ Burma

Dial CA 4-6075 for American-flag liner

service to all major ports in these countries.Your shipment will be scheduled and on itsway before you can say Khorramshahr.

Regular sailings from U. S. Gulf,,~-~ and U. S. Atlantic ports

.................... ~~:OENTRALOUL¥~~!HOUSTON FIRST SAVINGS BLDG 711 FANN/N ST.~~ ., .

NEW ORLEANS ¯ NEW YORK ¯ GALVESTON ¯ BOMBAY

4

,,HELLENICLINE~ LtM1TED

40 VESSELSSERVE

HELLENIC SHIPPERSUNDER THIS

FLAG!

Frequent SailingsExpress Serviceto and from the

MEDITERRANEANRED SEA

ARABIAN GULFand

INDIAPAKISTANCEYLONBURMA

Refrigerated SpaceDeep Tanks ̄ Heavy Lifts

Passenger Accommodations

HELLENIC LINES LIMITED319 International Trade Mart

New Orleans 12

Houston Agent

LE BLANC-PARR, INC.616 Cotton Exchange Building

CA 2-2259AREA CODE 713

PORTOF HOUSTON MAGAZINE

Ship TL and LTL on the Sea-Land

To Market~- Untouched, Undamaged, Pdterage.

~~ Free because: A sealed SEA-LANDtrailer . . . becomes a shippingcontainer . . goes via low water-way rates . . . then completesdoor-to-d00r delivery.

SEA-LAND OFFERS TOTAL TRANS-PORTATION SERVICE: Between New

[ York (Elizabeth, N. J.) and Jackson-ville [] Between New York (Eliza-beth, N. J.) and Texas [3 BetweenNew York (Elizabeth, N.J.) andLong Beach, Oakland, Portland andSeattJe E3 Between New York (Eliza-beth, N.J.) and San Juan, Ponce,Mayaguez ~ Between Baltimoreand San Juan, Ponce, Mayaguez C]Between Jacksonville and San Juan,Ponce, Mayaguez [] Between LongBeach, Oakland, Portland and SanJuan, Ponce, Mayaguez EU BetweenSeattle and Anchorage, Kodiak []From Anchorage to Kodiak C FromJacksonville to Houston F~ FromPuerto Rico to Houston.

SEA -LANDSERVICE, INC.

America’sSeagoingMotorCaffier

Consult your directory for theSea-Land office nearest you.

AS~ YOUR S[~[~B R[Pff[S[NTATIV[ TO PR[PAR[ A COST ANALYSIS OF YOUR TOTAL FR[IGHI OlSTRIBUTION DOLLAR!

Waterman’s large fleet and s÷rafegically located

offices and agents are at the service of world

shippers, offering reliable transport to rnaiormarkets of the free world.

Sailingsfrom allU. S. Coastsandthe Great Lakes

General Offices: Mobile, AlabamaHouston: Cotton Exchange BuildingBran©hes in Other Principal Cities

Only Humble providesweatherproof pipeline fuelingTo help you keep big vessels on schedule, Humblemakes direct pipeline delivery of bunker fuels at allPort of Houston City Docks and at Long Reach. Thiscuts turn-around time and improves scheduling in anyweather . . . can save you as much as 12 hours in foulweather. Another reason for specifying Humble--where you get the fuels and lubricants that are the"World’s First Choice!" H U M B L E

Oil 8,¢ REFINING COMPANYAMERICA’S LEADING ENERGY COMPANY

AUGUST, 19655

SERVICES FROM HOUSTONand other Gulf ports

INDIA SERVICEKarachi ¯ Bombay ̄ Colombo ¯ Madras

Calcutta ¯ RangoonAlso calls Mediterranean and Red Sea ports

PERSIAN GULF SERVICEDammam ¯ Kuwait ¯ Basrah ̄ Khorramshahr

Bandar Shahpour ¯ Abadan ̄ BahreinAlso calls Mediterranean and Red Sea ports

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SERVICEHonolulu ̄ Port Allen ¯ Nawiliwili

Hilo ¯ Kahulul

World Wide Cargo Services fromAll Coasts of the United States

Intercoastal Services mBaltimore GalvestonBeaumont Houston

Between Gulf and

I Boston

Long BeachBrownsville Los Angeles

Pacific Ports Bu~alo MemphisChicago Mobile

From Pacific Lumber ClevelandNew Orl ....Dallas New York

Ports to Atlantic Ports Detroit

NorfolkPhiladelphiaPortland, Ore.San FranciscoSeattleWashington, D. C.

BERTH AGENTS

COTTON EXCHANGE BLDG., HOUSTON

SHIPPING OVERSEAS?

Serving the Portof Houston

MoPac can handle the details.

You are in Wichita. Yourshipment must go to Tehran,and the closest Port Authorityman is at a Gulf port. Who’sgoing to answer your questionsabout customs regulations?About ship schedules? Aboutpacking, labeling, tariffs?

Ask us. MoPac.We serve 12 ports on the

Gulf Coast and the Laredo,

Brownsville and E1 Paso gate-ways to Mexico. Our peoplekeep up to the minute onchanges in import-export pro-cedures.

For on-the-nose freightschedules, use MoPac’s coor-dinated rail/truck service toany of these Gulf ports. Youwon’t have to worry about athing.

J. P. DONOVANForeign Freight Traffic Mgr.1706 Missouri Pacific Bldg.St. Louis, Mo. 63103

R. A. GRIESMANAssistant Traffic Manager406 Union StationHouston, Texas 77002


PORT OFHOUSTON

Volume 7

Official PublicationOf the Harris County Houston Ship Channel Navigation District

Directory Of OfficialsFOR THE

Port of HoustonPORT COMMISSIONERSHOWARD TELLEPSEN, ChairmanW. N. BLAHTON, Vice ChairmanR. H. PRUETTE. H. HENDERSONW. D. HADEN II

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTJ. P. TURNER, General ManagerVERNON BAILEY, Assistant General ManagerJ. L. LOCKETT, JR., CounselSAMUEL B. BBUCE, AuditorTRAVIS L. SMITH. III.

Manager a/Engineering and PlanningRICHARD LEACH, Chic/ EngineerROBERT W. ROBINSON, Accounts ManagerKENNETH W. STEPHENS, Personnel Manager

and World Trade Bldg. Mgr.T. E. WHATLEY, Administrative AssistantVINCENT D. WILLIAMS, Administrative

Assistant

PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENTLLOYD GRE~ORY, Director o/In/ormationTED SUMERLIN, Editor o/MagazineVAUaHN M. BRYANT, Director o/

International Relations

SALES DEPARTMENTGEORCE W. ALTVATER, General Sales ManagerEDWABD P. MOORE, District Sales ManagerFRANK WARD, Assistant

25 Broadway, New York, N.Y.HUME A. HENDERSON, District Sales Manager

Board of Trade Building, Chicago, Ill.JOHN R. WEILER, District Sales ManagerC. A. RoussER, JR., District Sales

Representative1519 Capitol, Houston

OPERATIONS DEPARTMENTC. E. BULLOCK, Operations ManagerT. H. SHERWOOD, Manager o/Grain ElevatorJ. R. CURTIS, Terminal ManagerWALLACE J. STAGNER, Manager-Storage

WarehousesCARL L. SHUPTRINE, Chic/Security OfficerW. E. REDMON, Maintenance Superintendent

WORLD TRADE CENTEREDWARD J. FAY, Director

EXECUTIVE OFFICES1519 Capitol Avenue at Crawford Street

Telephone CApitol 5-0671P. O. Box 2562, Houston, Texas 77001

AUGUST, 1965

August, 1965 No. 8

Content3

M.V. SAM HOUSTON Is "Show Window" of The Port .................... 9

Scene At The World Trade Club ................................... 12

Houston Is Center of Booming Petrochemical Industry ................... 14

World Is Playground For Veteran Ship Agent ............................. 16

Port of Houston Establishes Industrial Area .............................. 17

The Houston Port Bureau Reports ...................................... 21

Houston Steamship Agents ............................................ 30

Port of Houston Shipping Directory ..................................... 31

Sailing Schedule of General Cargo Ships ............................... 32

THE COVER

This unusual view of the Port of Houston’s Turning Basin area gives a bird’s

eye view of the new industrial area which is being made available. For more pic-

tures and information see Page 17.

The PORT OF HOUSTON Magazine is pub-lished monthly and distributed free to mari-time, industrial and transportation interests inthe United States and foreign countries. Itspurpose is to inform shippers and others inter-ested in the Port of Houston of its develop-ment, facilities, plans and accomplishments.

This publication is not copyrighted and per-

mission is given for the reproduction or useof any material, provided credit is given tothe Port of Houston.

Additional information or extra copies otthis magazine may be obtained by writingThe Port of Houston Magazine, 3005 Louisi-ana Street, Houston, Texas 77006.

Put your freight inCunard’s hands

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Gulf General Agents, 442 Canal Street, Sanlin Bldg.Offices and Agents in all major cities in the U.S. and Canada

TheBANK LINE Ltd.Regular Service from

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Kansas City - Cincinnati


By CARL D. BONDInternational Relations

Representative M. V. SAM HOUSTONGleaming white, looking almost saucy

as she cruised past the deepsea cargovessels of a dozen nations and the work-a-day tugs in the Houston Ship Channel,the Port’s inspection vessel SAM HOUS.TON last month celebrated her seventhbirthday as "The Show Window of thePort of Houston."

The day was July 30 and it wasscarcely different from any other day inthe saga of this 95-foot. diesel-powered,air-conditioned steel vessel which hascruised the equivalent of nearly fourtimes around the world, carrying morethan a quarter of a million passengersranging from cub scouts to ambassadorsand chiefs of state.

All have been impressed and amazedhy the panorama of industrial develop-merit and shipping activity they haveseen from the devks of the Port’s goodpublic relations arm which daily, exceptMondays, makes her way from the Turn-ing Basin to Green’s Bayou and backagain, often two or three {lines.

Since she was christened at appropri-ate ceremonies on July 30. 1958, byMiss Karen Tellepsen, daughter of PortCommission Chairman Howard Tellep-sen, the SAM HOUSTON has carried anever-increasing number of passengers.

During the first 17 months of opera-tion in 1958 and 1959 the Port’s far-famed inspection vessel averaged only 65passengers a trip. In 1964 she averaged82 passengers a trip, with a capacityallowance of 100, and the trend for 1965is even higher.

Passengers on an average trip may

AUGUST, 1965

Is ’Show Window’ For The

Port of Houston Channel

Port General Manager J. P. Turner hands the bottle of champagne to Miss KarenTellepsen for the christening of the SAM HOUSTON in 1958.

include a Brownie Scout troop, a Japa-nese trade delegation, members of acivic club, local residents with out-of-town guests, a traffic manager or exportmanager for a manufacturing firm andseveral foreign newsmen.

Occasionally the vessel is reserved forgroups of particular interest to the Port,the City. the State or the Nation. Re-cently. "for example, these have included,the Harbor Board of Copenhagen, Den-mark: students of the United StatesIndustrial College of the Armed Forces;the governor of the State of Tamaulipas,

Mexico; the Governor of Kansas; andlocal congressional, state and city offi-cials.

One of the highest ranking visitorsaboard the SAM HOUSTON was thepresident of E1 Salvador in March of1959. Ministers, ambassadors and spe-cial diplomatic representatives from allover the world have also viewed thebustling industry of $3 billion ndustrialcomplex located on or near the banks ofthe Ship Channel. One of the mostrecent was Ambassador Sukich Nimman-heminda and lfis party in May.

The original four members of the five man crew of the SAM HOUSTON arefrom the left Ollie O. Cheairs, chief steward; Garvis D. Norris, chief engineer;Henry J. Gibson, first mate and alternate captain; and captain Roy R. Faulkner.Robert M. Bratcher, the newest member of the crew was off-duty when the picturewas made.

Twenty-five midshipmen from Eastern colleges and universities on their annualsummer training program toured the Port of Houston aboard the SAM HOUSTONas part of a program arranged by the Navy League.

10

Texas Governor and Mrs. John Con-nally send greetings to one of the vesselsof the Texas Navy passing in review onSan Jacinto Day.

Other special groups that make thechannel inspection trip include bothshippers and steamship company repre-sentatives, and special commodity han-dlers such as wheat growers and sdlers.

One of the highlights every year forthe SAM IlOUSTON is San JacintoDay, April 21, when the gow~rnor andhis official party board the vessel for thetrip down channel to the San JacintoBatth,grounds where Texas won its inde-pendence in 1836. There the governoron board the S;4M HOUSTON, flagshipof the Texas fleet, reviews the TexasNavy.

The Texas Navy consists of vessels 2,1,feet and over, mostly pleasure crafts.whose owners join the Texas Navy. Allpersonnel in the Texas Navy hold therank of admiral.

A loud toot on the SAM HOUSTON’shorn at 10 A.M. and 2 P.M. Tuesdavthrough Saturday and at 2 P.M. on Sm~-day announces the start of one of thew~ssel’s trips down the major industrial-ized portion of the "Fabulous 50 Miles"that make up the Port of Houston.

As she backs out of her berth at thehead of the Turning Basin some 50miles from the sea. the SAM HOUS-TON’s deck is crowded with peoplewaiting their first glimpse of some ofthe more than 4,000 vessels that dockin the Port of Houston each year.

Moving out into the Turning Basin,the SAM ttOUSTON may pass a Colom-bian vessel unloading coffee nsually aLiberian. Chinese, or Greek flag vesselloading scrap iron, or an American ves-sel unloading general cargo. She heads

PORT OF HOUSTON MAGAZINE

Faulkner and Cheairs served aboardthe old SAM HOUSTON. a wood hulled,former Coast Guard patrol boat that wasused as the Port’s inspection vessel from1948 to 1957.

Captain Faulkner and First Mate Gib-son hold pilot’s certificates that showtheir qualification to handle and pilotany size vessel in the Houston ShipChannel.

The SAM HOUSTON is limited tocarrying 100 passengers per trip. Thetrip is free to anyone who can find atime when reservations are a~ailable

aboard the increasingly popular boat.Reservations may be made by calling thePort of Houston’s downtown office, butshould be done about three months inadvance for groups of any size. and asearly as possible for small groups.

Reservations for the entire month ofAugust are full and the vessel will re-ceive its yearly merhaul during themonth of September. Thus, anyone want-ing to see the nation’s third largestport from aboard the SAM tlOUSTONshouhl arrange no~ for reservations inOctober or later.

The Ambassador of Thailand, His Ex-cellency Sukich Nimmanheminda, takesthe wheel of the SAM HOUSTON duringpart of his trip along the Houston ShipChannel.

through the 1.000 feet ~ide TurningBasin ~dn-re deepsea ~essels are turnedaround to head back to the (;ulf ofMexico. and start downstream.

As she makes her way past the busywharw~s the SdM HOUSTON will passvessels from more than l0 nations in the,’our.~, of the year. She will pass thethree grain elevators currently in oper-ation along the ChamM that [’m~-e madeHouston the nation’s number one wheatshipping port. Passengers. whether fifthgraders or the Australian Minister ofTrade, will vim~ the huge refineries.petrochemical plants, cotton storagesheds, and the wharves loaded with steel.attlomobiles, oil field machinery andother cargo.

Meanwhile. the two 525-horsepowerdiesels will be pushing the SAM HOUS-TON along at a steady pace and thevessel’s central year-round air-condition-ing system will be taming the power ofthe bright Texas sun or the brisk Northwinds that sometimes blow in the winter.

Four members of the SAM HOUS.TON’s five man crew . . . they rotatetheir days off . . . will be aboard, oper-ating the vessel and answering the pas-sengers’ hundreds of questions. Freecoffee and soft drinks are served tognests on board.

Captain Roy Faulkner. master; FirstMate and ahernate caplai-n Henry J.(;ibson; Chief Engineer Garvis D. Nor-ris; and Chief Steward Ollle.O. Cheairshave been with the SAM HOUSTONsince she was commissioned in 1958.Seaman Robert M. Bratcher has been~ith her since 1960.

AUGUST, 1965

A high ranking N.A.T.O. information team toured the Port of Houston aboardthe SAM HOUSTON as part of their activities during a week-long visit to the area.Countries represented were Great Britain, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Canada,Portugal and the United States.

Delegates take time out from their duties at the United Nations to tour the Portof Houston on the SAM HOUSTON. Visitors from scores of nations take this inter-esting and educational boat ride each year.

I1

S EENE AT THE

Dr. Dieter Ramm, left, agricultural specialist from the U. S.Embassy in Bonn, accompanied the team of five German news,radio and television agricultural experts on their United Statestour. With him here in the World Trade Club are newsmanDr. Anthonius John of the HANDELSBLATT, Bonn; Manfred vonJeterczenka, German Radio in Cologne; Thurman Sherwood,manager of the Port of Houston’s Public Grain Elevator andHans Sunder, representative of Biehl & Co., agents for theGerman lines Ozean-Stinnes, Hamburg America and NorthGerman Lloyd which carry much of Texas’s agricultural ex-ports to Germany.

The disaster executive committee of the American Red Crossmet recently at the Houston World Trade Club as the guestsof Club member and committee chairman Edwin Eikel. Frontrow, left to right are Eikel, Jerome R. Oslund, director ofRed Cross Disaster Service, and Fred L. Bowman, expeditingsupporting services. Left to right, back row, are C. A. Um-bach, Jr., public information subcommittee; Meyer Minchen,expediting mass care services, and Robert E. Lewis, liaisonofficer for Civil Defense.

12

Port Commissioner W. D. Haden II, right, chairman of theoperations committee for the 1965 Houston InternationalTrade & Travel Fair and two of his vice chairmen go overplans for the day-to-day supervision of the Fair. September 17to 26. Shown are George Altvater, general sales manager, andEdward J. Fay, director of the World Trade Center, both ofthe Port of Houston. W. L. Brewster, general agent, GalvestonWharves, and R. C. Poston, sales representative for LykesBros. Steamship Company, are also vice chairmen on theoperations committee.

Port of Houston and U. S. Department of Agriculture offi-cials met with a group of visiting West German radio, tele-vision and press representatives especially interested in agri-culture who visited the Port recently to view the type of agri-cultural exports moving out to Germany. Seen here at theWorld Trade Club are Karl Groesch, of the Southwest Germanradio in Mainz; C. E. Bullock (rear) operations manager the Port of Houston; Gerhard Hoepfner, writer for DIE WELTof Hamburg; Dr. V. L. Beukenkamp, U. S. Department ofAgriculture foreign service; Felton Overby, U. S. Departmentof Agriculture in Houston, and Wolfgang Willmann, head ofthe agriculture section of Radio Stuttgart.


Two high New Zealand port officials from Auckland re-newed friendships with Houston Port Commissioners last monthwhen they stopped over for a visit to the Port enroute homefrom the Interports Convention of the International Associa-tion of Ports and Harbours in London, and the InternationalCargo Handling Coordination Association meeting in Paris.They were R.C.F. Savory, second from left, chairman of theAuckland Harbour Board, and R. T. Lorimer, second from

Lebanon’s director general of the Ministry of National Econ-omy, Ihsan Jemil Beydoun, visited Houston and the WorldTrade Center to confer with business leaders during his tour ofthe country under the Department of State’s Foreign LeaderProgram. His local program was arranged by World TradeCenter Director E. J. Fay. Shown here in the World Trade Clubare Mr. and Mrs. Beydoun, right; Qais AI-Sharbarti, State De-partment interpreter, left, and George Ebanks, vice presidentof the Texas National Bank of Commerce.

right, assistant general manager of New Zealand’s leadingport. In the center is Port Commissioner W. N. Blanton, whovisited the Port of Auckland in 1964; Port Commission Chair-man Howard Tellepsen, left, who was with the two NewZealanders at the meeting in London, and Port CommissionerE. H. Henderson. Houston Port Commissioner R. H. Pruett andGeneral Manager J. P. Turner also attended the London andParis international port meetings.

ii !iiii i~

Snapped at the World Trade Club recently were two prom-inent Houston timber importer-exporters. R. R. Brimble, Clubmember and president of Brimble Bros. Lumber Company,which imports and exports on a worldwide basis, had as hisguest George H. Henderson, right, of Lufkin, prominent EastTexas landowner, lumberman and philanthropist who is presi-dent of the Angelina Hardwood Sales Co. and a director ofthe Angelina County Lumber Co., the Lufkin National Bankand the East Texas Chamber of Commerce.

Barry Lee Bishop, right, former Texas newsman and later in-formation officer of the United States Embassy in Buenos Aires,visited the World Trade Club recently upon his return to Wash-ington from Madrid where for the last two years he has beendeputy public affairs officer. Previously he was public affairsofficer in La Paz, Bolivia, and also served in United StatesInformation Service in Mexico. With him is C. D. Whitmire, Jr.,Houston travel agency executive.

AUGUST, 1965

Bloomfield Steamship Co. executives met in the WorldTrade Club last month with one of their leading Europeanrepresentatives, UIIo E. Hudemann, second from right, a di-rector of Ernst Glassel, Ltd., of Bremen, agents in that portfor the Houston steamship firm. Shown with Mr. Hudemann,from left, are Dave Holman, traffic manager, Robert T. Lester,senior vice president, and O. C. Webster, vice president,purchasing.

13

Oil. tankers and Houston have hecomesynonymous for many people, but fewnot directly connected with water trans-portation realize the tremendous amountof chemicals that move through the port.

Houston can claim not only the titleof "Petrochemical Capital of America."but also the overall title of "ChemicalLeader" of the United States.

"The burgeoning Gulf Coast chemicalindustry has made Texas the leadingproducer of chemicals among all thestates." ~ys one industry spokesman,and the Texas chemical industry hasHouston as its hub. It has made thenearly 300,000 tons of chemicals ex-ported annually the second largest itemin general cargo tonnage at the Port ofHouston. surpassed only by the three-quarters of a million tons of steel han-dled.

Since World War II, the state’s chem-ical industry has boomed and grownuntil now it is the largest manufacturingemployer in the state. The industry to-day is a complex mixture of companieswhich produce chemical raw materials,]msic chemicals, petrochemicals, agricul-tural chemicals, plastics, synthetic rub-

her and some metals as well as drugs.paints and household chemicals.

Chemical producers haw’ been at-tracted to Houston by the concentrationof oil fields, good transportation facili-ties such as the 40 feet deep Port ofHouston, refineries and raw materials.The second largest refinery in the U. S.is located on the Houston Ship Channelat Bavtown. Raw materials such as salt.llme, "sulphur, water, natural gas andoil are readily available nearby withsuch other necessities as phosphate rockhaving easy entrance into lhe areathrough the Port.

A recent survey by the HoustonChamber of Commerce showed 187chemical plants in the Houston-GulfCoast area producing 415 chemical prod-ucts. These plants produce such thingsas sulphurie acid, alcohols, sodium hy-droxide, carbon blaek, synthetic resins,synthetic rubber, and chemical ferti-lizers.

These include approximately 80 percent of the nation’s output of syntheticruhher and more than half of the na-tion’s production of plastic materials andresi ns.

In Texas, about 47,000 people areemployed by the chemical industries.providing a payroll of almost $300 mil-lion. In Harris County, location of thePort of Houston, some 10,800 employeesin 137 establishments are employed bychemical and allied-product industries.

Petrochemicals are the key to Hous-ton’s growth in the industry, along withefficient facilities for handling tankerloads of specialized chemicals and drum-ming facilities for small package ship-ments. Oil, natural gas, refinery off-gasesand natural gas liquids are u~d as feed-stocks.

The hulk of the nation’s petrochemicalindustry is located in Texas becausealmost half of the oil reserves in thcU. S. are located here. The state is alsothe nation’s largest producer of naturalgas.

Ethylene is the undisputed monarch

Phillips Chemical Company’s AdamsTerminal on the Houston Ship Channelhandles a variety of petrochemicals in-cluding fertilizers, Marlex, a Phillipsplastic discovery, and methylvinyipyri-dine, a chemical used in synthetic fibers.

14PORT OF HOUSTON MAGAZINE

of the petrochemical kingdom. In theHouston area, an ethylene pipe linesystem ties together a vast complex ofplants lying along the Houston ShipChannel. Other petrochemicals of primeimportance are propylenc, benzene andacetylene.

But the Houston-area chemical in-dustry doesn’t stop with petrocheinicals.In fact. sulphuric acid is the leadingchemical shipped at the Port of Houston.More than one million tons of this basicindustrial chemical moves annually overthe Houston Ship Channel in barge bulkshipments, augmenting the 300,000 tonsof chemicals shipped as general cargoin export.

Activity is centered around the im-mediate Houston area, including Pasa-dena, Deer Park, Baytown, Texas Citvand Freeport. The first three towns arelocated on the Houston Ship Channel ......with many of the plants having theirown tanker and barge terminals.

AUGUST, 1965

A whole new chemical processingcenter is expected to grow around thenew Bayport Industria| Park and deepsea port being developed on the westernedge of Galveston Bay. Lying betweenClear Lake and LaPorte, the area isbeing developed by Humble Oil & Re-fining Co., with a deep sea port andlarge terminal being built for it by theHarris County Houston Ship ChannelNavigation District.

The first Bayport chemical plant tobegin output is the Retzloff ChemicalCorporation’s million dollar agriculturalchemical products unit that made itsfirst run in July.

Companies which previously limitedthemselves to oil refining are nowbranching out into petrochemicals. Inthe first few months of 1965, 17 com-panies announced new, major petro-chemical projects in the Houston-GulfCoast area. All these projects arc esti-mated for completion by latc 1966 orearly 1967. New expansions, improve-ments, modernization programs, and

Sometimes called a Houston hill, thesefractionating towers rise high above theTexas plains to rearrange feedstockmolecules in the ~roduction of petro-chemicals.

Many adjustments are necessary tokeep a petrochemical plant "on line,"and this shows a Rube Goldberg varietyof values which are necessary at oneinstallation.

other building projects arc being an-nounced continually.

In January alone, six major petro-chemical projects were announced orconfirmed in the Houston area. Whencompleted, these could total as much as$60 million, according to estimates.

The agricultural chemicals industry isalso booming as sevcral companies arebuilding large fertilizer complexes inTexas. Anhydrous ammonia is the chiefproduct here.

Ordinary salt is the basis for anothersegment of production. Drawn from saltdeposits and brine wells, the material isused in chemical processes to produceinorganic chemicals such as chlorine,soda ash and caustic soda. In 1963, some479,083 tons of caustic soda moved atthe Port of Houston, principally in bulkbarge shipments.

Even seawater comes into the picture.From a cubic mile of seawater, onechemical plant can produce more than12 billion pounds of magnesium. Texassupplies all of the magnesium used inthe United States and 75 percent of thefree world’s supply.

Five years ago, it was predicted thatcapital investment in chemical plantsalong the Gulf Coast would reach $4 to$5 billion by 1970. The Figure hasalready been reached and growth showsno signs of slowing.

15

No. 62 in a Series

W urld Is PlayqruundFur Valaran Ship/lqp.nl

Bv LLOYD GREGORYl)(rector of Information

H IS BROWN FYES IW nkling. Harden F. Wittie. l)residentof Fowh.r & MeVitic. hm.. points to a huse U.S. Navv

hydrographic map covering a ~.~all of his office, and says:"For a man in our business, the whole world is his play-

~rOllltd.’ ~

Mr. Wittig likes to study the sea lanes, and t(, note thestrategic location of tile Port of Houston for ctmmlerce withIll(; wnrht.

Finder & McVitie. In(’., ship agents, was organized in 1881in Galveston. "[ believe our firm is the oldest operating intile West Gulf, but x~.c are looking to the fnturc, and notdwelling in the past," Mr. ~Vittig said.

The tirm’s headquarters art’ in the Cotton F.xchangc Building. Houston. with firm offices also in Galveston. Dallas.Memphis. Tulsa, and New Orleans. and representatives alsoin }]rm,nsvilh’, Corpus Christi. ]~caumont. Port Arthur.()range. I,ake Charles, Baton Rouge. Mobile. (;ulfport. Tampa.

"We have all the necessary agency and sh’ve(lorin~ cover-age of Ihe entire U.S. Gulf, in addi/ion to our ,,~n inh’riorsolicitation offices." President Witlig polnh’d otll.

Olher officers of the corporation art’: V{. M. Klyng, and]{. I{. George. vice presidents; Arthur H. {llsen. secretary-[reasnrcr.

\Vith fin" addition of R. A. (lJiek) \’~rilSon- vice presidenl.the same officers operate Liberty Stevedore Co.. Inc.. whichMr. \Vittig founded.

Mr. Wiltig and his associates represent many ship m~ners.who operale casual vessels, the foremost beina the A. P.Moller and Company Maersk Line. the largest in Scandinavia.

Mr. Witlig was born in 1906 in Galveston. where his par-ents and grandparenls were born. After graduation from Ballhigh school, he studied business administration and sclcnlificmanagement in New York / niversitv. This course of studyis reflected in a unique "flow chart" of his company’s worl{tx~idc booking procedure, detailing all steps in the bookingand moving of ocean-going traffic.

\lr. \Vittig’s first and only job has been with F’(mler McVitic. starting Sept. 15, 1924.. in Galveston as an adminis-trative secretary. He always has been in administration, l)e-

196:).coming l)rcsidcnt in ( "A versatile, and tah’ntcd man of unusual energy. Mr. \ViLli a,

does not look his age, possibly because he usually plays golfonce a week. shooting in thc low 80’s. He is a member ofPiney P,,inr, Atascosita, and Galveston Country clubs.

For 13 years. Mr. Wittig played the oboe an/I sa,,opholw i,the E1 Mi]la Shrine band at Galw,ston, aml also m a sym-phony orchestra in the Island City.

He is active in Lutheran circles, serving as vice l)residentof the development board of the Texas Lutheran College,Seguin. and was instrumental in getting a $500,000 grantfrom lhe Moody Foundation of Galveston for this school.

Mr. Wittig is a member of thc World Trade Association,World Trade Club, Houston Club, Propeller Club. HoustonCJmmt)er of Commerce, and U.S. Chamber of Commerce.He married a Galveston girl, Miss Alma Reyder. The Wittigslive at 594.1 Crab Orchard. Their children are: Robert H.Wittig. a naval air force officer; Edith, 12, and Linda. 10.

16

Men Who Make the Port of Houston Hum

><5%~ ~" :)<

HARDEN F. WITTIG


Industrial Area Near Docks

Is Made Available By Port

Approximately 200 acres of land isbeing readied by the Navigation Districtin an area lying immediately behindWharv~-s 17 through 25 to b~- offeredon long term leases to Port orientatedindustries.

The area stretches from tire entranceroad at Gate 2 in a southeasterly direc-tion behind the wharves and along Clin-ton drive, ending beyond the channelbend at the boundary of the old Dick-inson Gun Plant, just across from theNavigation District’s Old Manchesterwharves.

The project is a long range develop-ment ~hich will ultimately be served byInterstate 610 super freeway to be builtalong its eastern border, crossing theShip Channel on a high level bridge.The route is part of Houston’s innerloop system, tying into the North Loopand South Loop and on around to theWest L~,op--all nearly completed atpresent.

Alreadv nearing completion is a mileand one "third of paved road from theNavigation District’s Terminal Office tothe end of Wharf 25, running about400 yards behind the wharf aprons. Asnew wharves are constructed, this roadwill be continued on around behindthem until it terminates at future Wharf32, at the area’s southeastern corner andlying just cast of tire bridge.

Future ~’harf 32 will be a sheddedfacility, as will future Wharves 30 and31, lying just west of the bridge. Fu-ture Wharf 29 will be open and Wharves26, which is open, and 27 and 28, whichare shedded, are now under construe-lion just below and around the channelbend from new Wharves 23 (open) and21, and 25 (shedded).

A fenee will be built alongside theroad, tying ira with the fence comingtoward the wharves from Gate 2 whichborders the present Sea-Land tract, sothat the Navigation District’s port ac-tivity will be confined to the area westof the fence, isolating it from activityin the industrial sites.

Ramp roads will lead down to thewharves from the new road at pointsbehind Wharves 17, 20, and 25 andlater at future Wharf 29.

"This area offers prime industrial

AUGUST, 1965

Travis L. Smith III, manager of engineering and planning for the Port of Houston,discusses plans for the Industrial Park with Richard Leach, chief engineer.

sites for all types of port orientated busi.ness activity" says Travis L. Smith, Ill,the Navigation District’s engineeringand planning manager, who has beenin charge of the project.

"We have provided sites ranging from12 to 19 acres, served by access roadsas required, and with rail service avail-able. There are two existing rail storageyards and an extension of the PublicGrain Elevator service yard is planned.

Smith explained that the subdivisionof the acreage is flexible and can beadded to or reduced in size to suit theneeds of the lessee. There are miscel-laneous smaller tracts also available invarying acreage which can be alteredto suit the needs of the user.

The area will be served by the PortTerminal Railroad, which is operatedby the six trunk line railroads servingthe Port of Houston--Santa Fe, Mis-souri Pacific, Burlington, Southern Pa-cific, Rock Island and M-K-T.

Electric power, water and natural gasin adequate supply is also available tothe sites and a modern City of Houstonsewage disposal plant is already operat-ing in one area of the tract near Clin-ton Drive.

Smith foresees such industry as steel

fabrication, pl)wnod tinishing, packag-ing plants, processing plants, container-ization depots, steel storage and han-dling plants and similar activity asideally suited to the area being d’evcl-oped.

The high level bridge and the Inter-state 610 East Loop should be servinglhe area within approximately fiveyears, Smith says. Rights of way arebeing purchased along the route andplans are now being prepared for the142 foot-high bridge which will com-pletely span the Ship Channel withhorizontal and vertical clearance thatwill not obstruct navigation.

Service roads to the freeway andbridge on the north side of the ((hannelwill lead directly into the NavigationDistrict’s industrial site to add to theaccessibility of the area.

Already occupying sites in the newarea are Sea-Land Service, which hasbeen there for several years, arrd DaltonSteamship Company which recentlyleased nearly four acres.

Sea-Land has recently taken an addi-tional five acres adjacent to its presentoperation behind Wharf 17 to give it atotal of 16.5 acres to accommodate itsexpanded operation.

17

This is an artist’s conception of how the Port of Houston’s new Industrial Area mlgl


,k when the space is leased and all planned improvements are completed.

AUGUST, 1965 19

2O

These are suggested tract sizes available in the new Industrial Area


REDUCED TRUCK RATES will become effectivesome time in August in iron and steel com-modities from Port of Houston to a broadarea of Oklahoma destinations. AlreadyHouston’s number one import commodity ingeneral cargo, steel has made Houston theleading steel port in the nation with over

715,000 tons imported during 1964. In ad-dition to this growing amount of importsteel, another 217,681 tons of coastwisedomestic steel was received through theport, totaling nearly one million tons.Pictured above is a direct transfer ofsteel from deep sea vessel to waitingtruck by one of Houston’s 50-ton locomo-tive cranes.

MIXING OF INTRASTATE and interstateshipments in one rail car is being re-viewed by the Railroad Commission ofTexas. Under R.C.T. Docket 14798-R, anapplication is under consideration thatwould allow this mixture of intrastatetraffic with interstate traffic, subjectto interstate rates on both portions. Thesituation resulted from an order by theRailroad Commission dated March 30, 1965,directing the carriers to discontinue thispractice. The Port Bureau supported thepart of the application at public hearingin Austin, Texas that would permit the

AUGUST, 1965

mixing of tonnage, but took no positionwith respect to rates. There are instanceswhere interstate rates would produce lowercharges and instances where intrastaterates would result in lower freightcharges.

FREE RETURN OF INFLATABLE DUNNAGE, nylonstrapping and insulating blanket. Carriershave under consideration the establishmentof a new rule in Southern Ports tariffsgoverning import and export freight, thatwill allow free return of above describeddunnage from destination back to origin ofshipment. The proposed rule will accommo-date this type of dunnage, now being usedto protect exports through Southern ports,particularly firebrick and other refrac-tory products.

CANCELLATION OF A GENERAL THRFF PER CENTincrease in truck rates has been recom-mended by an I.C.C. Examiner. The generalincrease was scheduled to apply on less-truckload and any-quantity class and com-modity rates of Southwestern motor carrierswithin the Southwestern Territory and be-tween it and points in Wyoming andColorado. The Examiner also stated in hisreport in I & S docket 3444, that theoperations of a certain limited number ofcarriers which were used as a basis oftraffic and cost studies were not shown tobe representative of the motor carriersserving the Southwest, and because of thesubstantial deficiencies in the record,the increase has not been shown to be justand reasonable. The protested 3% increasewas published by the SWMFB carriers effec-tive July l, 1964.

THE CORPUS CHRISTI COTTON COMPLAINT case(I.C.C. Docket 34409), in which Houston

Port Bureau petitioned the Commission tore-examine the evidence, correct errorsand omissions, and to find present Cottonrates lawful, is again before that bodyfor review. A new order, dated June 18,stayed the outstanding order pending dis-position of the petition.

21

Port Commissioner W. N. Blanton discusses the writing of the Port of Houston’shistory with Dr. Marilyn Sibley and Dr. James A. Tinsley.

United States Flag Vessels Owners, Operators, Agents

Regular Sailings From U. S. Gulf Ports to Continental Europe,East Coast of United Kingdom and Scandinavia-Baltic

STATES MARINE LINES---Berth Agents

O~i~es In All Principal C,~t Ports

7

FEARNLEY & EGER, asia, Norway

Fast Freight, Reefer, Deep Tank and Passenger Service

U.S. GULF / FAR EAST SERVICERegular Sailings From:

HOUSTON ̄ GALVESTON ¯ BEAUMONTMOBILE ¯ NEW ORLEANS

ALSO OTHER TEXAS PORTS AS CARGO WARRANTS

22

MANILA ¯ HONG KONG ̄ BANGKOK ̄ SAIGON ¯ SINGAPORED JAKARTA ¯ PORT SWETTENHAM ¯ PENANG ̄ BELAWAN DELl

General Agents Agents:

FEARNLEY & EGER, INC.BIEHL & COMPANYSixth Floor, WORLD TRADE BLDG.,

29 Broadway, New York, N. Y. 10006 HOUSTON, TEXAS344-3770 CApitol 2-9961

m

Port CommissionAuthorizes FullHistory of Port

A comprehensive history of the Portof Houston will be published in about ayear.

The Navigation and Canal Commis-sioners of the Harris County HoustonShip Channel Navigation District havevoted to employ Dr. Marilyn Sibley todo the writing. She will be assisted incollecting the material by members ofthe Texas Gulf Coast Historical Associ-ation, headed by Dr. James A. Tinslevof the University of Houston.

A native of Huntsville, Texas, Dr.Sibley received her bachelor’s degreefrom Sam Houston State College thereand her master’s degree from the Uni-versity of Houston.

Dr. Sibley recently was awarded herdoctorate of philosophy from Rice Uni-versity. History was her major.

Vice Chairman W. N. Blanton, vet-eran member of the Port Commission, ischairman of a committee that recom-mended Dr. Sibley. He has many timespointed out the need for a definitivehistory of the Port of Houston.

Other committee members are PortCommissioners E. H. Henderson and R.H. Pruett, Dr. John W. McFarland, su-perintendent of Houston Public Schools,and Lloyd Gregory, director of informa-tion for the Port of Houston.

FLOMERCA LINE(Flora

Mercante Gran Centro-Amerieana,

S.A.)

¯ . . WEEKLY SERVICE

DIRECT . . . FAST

from Houston, and New OrleansDirect To

Barrios-Matias and Cortes

LONE STAR SHIPPING INC.Houston Q Galveston

U.S. Representative

JAN C. UITERWYK CO., INC.

Tampa, Fla.


serving america’s heartland

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