In a new study, a consultant said Connecticut should invest up to $5 million in resuscitating or repurposing the Derecktor Shipyards facility in Bridgeport, but suggested far heavier investments in the ports of New Haven and New London.
The state hired New York City-based Moffatt & Nichol last December to undertake a study of its three deepwater ports, with the coastal and civil engineering firm issuing a 200-page report on Thursday, Oct. 4.
In addition to a renewed commitment to the Derecktor Shipyards property, Moffatt & Nichol suggested the state pursue several market-based strategies, including:
- enhanced capacity to handle oil and other bulk liquids;
- improved ferry services in Bridgeport and New London;
- increasing bulk cargo shipments to New Haven and New London; and
- redirecting scrap metal cargos off highways to ships.
Moffatt & Nichol cited as Bridgeport’s strengths its ample waterfront acreage, a successful ferry operation, and highway access. Weaknesses included an extensive need for expensive dredging, the experience of Derecktor Shipyards in declaring bankruptcy in Bridgeport, lack of adequate rail facilities, and “multiple layers of decision making” with regard to port strategy and management.
In 2010, Bridgeport handled 2.5 million tons of cargo, Moffatt & Nichols said, citing data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, compared to 7.1 million tons in New Haven and roughly 900,000 tons in New London.
The state should also analyze the potential for fresh produce shipments, the report stated, noting the 2008 relocation of a Turbana Corp. banana import facility from Bridgeport to Philadelphia, at a cost of as many as 100 jobs. Turbana gave multiple reasons for leaving Bridgeport, including a shallower channel limiting ship sizes, lower utility costs, shorter shipping times, inadequate facilities, and “issues with the employee-owned stevedore” in Bridgeport, as worded by Moffatt & Nichol.
“The fresh food industry has higher margins than many of the other commodities discussed in this report, but its market is also more volatile,” Moffatt & Nichol stated. “The Delaware River Basin in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware has a long term strategy created around fresh food importation, processing, and distribution. As a consequence, the Basin has developed a critical mass for fresh food imports.”
