Today, Brandy D. Christian, Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) President and CEO, and New Orleans Public Belt Railroad (NOPB) CEO, delivered the 2022 State of the Port address highlighting successes across the Port’s four lines of business and the completion of several vital maritime infrastructure projects. This was the first State of the Port gathering since 2019 before the pandemic.

Today, the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) elected Jack C. Jensen, Jr. to serve as Board Chairman, succeeding Charles H. Ponstein, whose term as Chairman ended this month. Also elected were Joseph F. Toomy, who will serve as Vice Chairman, and Walter J. Leger, Jr., who will serve as Secretary-Treasurer for the nine-month term.

The Port of New Orleans was recently awarded $514,964 in Port Security Grant funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to upgrade technology at the Harbor Police Department (HPD)’s Maritime Security Operations Center (MSOC).

The inaugural sailing of American Cruise Lines’ (ACL) American Symphony is set to depart Aug. 27^th from the Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA). This state-of-the-art cruise passenger vessel is the fifth riverboat in ACL’s ground-breaking new series and adds to American Cruise Lines’ four other homeported cruise vessels in New Orleans.

A plaque exchange took place on board where Port and ACL officials welcomed the newest riverboat on the Mississippi River. American Symphony will become the ninth homeported river cruise vessel that New Orleans hosts year-round.

Louisiana elected officials, federal partners and maritime stakeholders joined the Big River Coalition to celebrate the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) completion of the first two phases of the deepening of the Mississippi River Ship Channel, which presently provides a maximum draft for vessels to the Port of New Orleans at 50-feet. The Ship Channel has been mechanically deepened for approximately the first 200 miles of the Channel but additional efforts are required to open the deeper draft north of the Huey P. Long Bridge.

On Thursday, Gov. John Bel Edwards said that meetings with international business leaders in Europe this week have reaffirmed that Louisiana’s unique combination of sustainable energy solutions and global supply chain logistics advantages are positioning the state for long-term economic growth. The governor made his comments prior to embarking for Normandy to pay tribute to U.S. military veterans at historical World War II sites, following a series of Wednesday meetings with state and international business executives and economic development leaders as part of a weeklong economic mission to the Netherlands and France.

The Harbor Police Department (HPD) of the Port of New Orleans has named Cedric Turner to serve as Captain of the specialized law enforcement agency. Turner has served in law enforcement for 26 years and 20 of those working up the ranks in HPD. As Captain, Turner will be responsible for running the day-to-day operations of HPD’s Patrol Division, which is critical in HPD’s mission in ensuring the safety and security throughout port property and waterways within the Port’s three-parish jurisdiction of Jefferson, Orleans and St. Bernard Parish.

Harbor Police Department (HPD) Chief Melanie Montroll completed her first 100 days at the helm of the specialized law enforcement agency, delivering on her top priorities to attract and retain the best recruits, with a focus on diversity, community, training and homeland security.

Montroll’s early accomplishments are headlined by the introduction of body-worn cameras (BWC) for all HPD officers. In effect as of today, July 18, Harbor Police officers are now trained and equipped with BWC recording devices, which will support HPD’s continued commitment to transparency, while strengthening performance and accountability.

In an ongoing effort to engage local and small businesses in the New Orleans Gateway, the Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) is hosting a Procurement Fair on June 29 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Port of New Orleans Administration Building, 1350 Port of New Orleans Place, New Orleans, LA 70130.

The recent 2022 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature committed $96.595 million to aid expansion projects at the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal and Jourdan Road Cold Storage Terminal, along with new transportation projects in Orleans and St. Bernard parishes, all with the goal of driving international trade, while preparing for future growth.

The Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) is hosting a Small Business Certification Event on May 26 at 9 a.m. at the Louisiana International Terminal Community Connection Office, located at 6201A E. St. Bernard Hwy., Violet, LA 70092.

Today, Sharonda Williams was sworn in as a member of the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) at the May 19, 2022, board meeting. Appointed by Governor John Bel Edwards, Williams succeeds Darryl D. Berger as one of four Orleans Parish representatives on the seven-member regional board and will serve a five-year term.