The Port of New Orleans is an embarkation port for cruise passengers. It is also Louisiana’s only international container port. Port NOLA generates $100 million in revenue annually through its four lines of business – cargo, rail, cruise, and industrial real estate. As a self-sustaining political subdivision of the State of Louisiana, the Port receives zero tax dollars. In 1946 a foreign-trade zone was established in the port. The New Orleans FTZ has more individual warehouses and sites under its umbrella than any other U.S. port-administered FTZ.
Location
Port NOLA is located on the Mississippi River near the Gulf of Mexico. Port NOLA is a diverse general cargo port, handling containerized cargo such as plastic resins, food products, consumer merchandise; and breakbulk cargo such as steel, metals, rubber, wood, and paper.
Facility investment and terminal operations
State, port, and private companies have invested nearly $1 billion in infrastructure and facilities at Port NOLA, and another billion of investment is planned with private partnerships. Containerized Cargo Momentum: Port NOLA is the only deepwater container port in Louisiana.
840,000 annual TEU capacity with six gantry cranes to handle 10,000 TEU vessels.
Four new 100-foot gauge gantry cranes ordered spring/summer 2019 and under construction.
Regular container-on-barge services and on-dock rail access with the Mississippi River Intermodal Terminal.
New Orleans is the sixth largest cruise port in the United States. In 2019, it had 1.20 million cruise passenger movements and 251 cruise vessel calls.
Carnival and Norwegian sail weekly to destinations in the Eastern and Western Caribbean and Bahamas. Disney Cruise Line sails six cruises in 2020 from New Orleans. Royal Caribbean International returns with the Enchantment of the Seas in 2020 as well. Riverine cruises are a growing sector at Port NOLA. American Queen Steamboat Company and American Cruise Lines offer cruises along the coast and the nation’s inland river system.
Governance
The Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans governs the port. The Board sets policies and regulates traffic and commerce. It is made up of seven unsalaried commissioners who serve five-year staggered terms. The governor of Louisiana appoints board members from a list of three nominees submitted by 19 local business, civic, labor, education, and maritime groups. The seven-person board reflects its three-parish jurisdiction. Four members are selected from Orleans Parish, two from Jefferson Parish, and one from St. Bernard Parish.
