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New Container Terminal to Open in 2004 at Port Elizabeth
AP ^ | 30-OCT-2002 | AP via TampaBay Online

Posted on 10/30/2002 8:08:57 PM PST by GirlShortstop

ELIZABETH, N.J. (AP) - A new terminal to transfer cargo containers from ships to rail cars will open in early 2004 at Port Elizabeth with the capacity to handle 1 million of the trailer-sized boxes a year, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said Wednesday.

The $20 million ship-to-rail terminal will replace one that is nearing capacity, having handled a record 200,854 containers in 2001, up 13 percent from 2000, the agency said. The 2002 pace is 17 percent ahead of last year.

We have experienced unprecedented cargo growth at our port, and we project annual increases of 4.2 percent a year for the next 20 years, said Joseph J. Seymour, authority executive director.

The new ExpressRail site should handle the needs for the next few decades, authority spokesman Steve Coleman said.

The project will connect two existing container terminals, one of which already has five tracks, expanding them and adding three more tracks.

On the Net:   Port Authority: http://www.panynj.gov


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: New Jersey; US: New York
KEYWORDS: cargo; railroads; terroristwarning
While reading this article, a wave of concern and a sense of foreboding struck me. Vigilant as we are, we know of the terrorist warnings about rail lines (here) and the Coast Guard's response to recent arrivals of some container ships (here and here) over the past few weeks.
Is this type of news item prudent at this point in time?
Is it the halloween spooks that's gotten the best of me?

1 posted on 10/30/2002 8:08:57 PM PST by GirlShortstop
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To: GirlShortstop
The terrorists have a target rich environment, so keeping this "quiet" wouldn't help much. They can find out where our ports our without scanning the news.

Think of the new government control that would require.

2 posted on 10/30/2002 8:36:15 PM PST by secretagent
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To: secretagent
...so keeping this "quiet" wouldn't help much

I see your point regarding terrorist awareness of targets... I didn't get to finalize my posting because of system problems; my question was actually slightly different:

Is it prudent at this juncture for the Port Authority to release this type of news item?

I'll assume the specificity doesn't alter your valid point.

3 posted on 10/30/2002 8:45:32 PM PST by GirlShortstop
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To: GirlShortstop
The Port Authority released the info to get business, I assume. But I see the risk as relatively small to any particular port, since we have so many.

Not an internationally recognized symbol, like the Twin Towers. If terrorists want to destroy infrastructure, they just have to look around. We can't stop them by going dark.

4 posted on 10/30/2002 8:55:21 PM PST by secretagent
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To: GirlShortstop
How many more al-Qaida moles? WorldNetDaily Nov. 30, 2001

On Oct. 18, curious sounds emanating from a cargo container on board a freighter docked at the South Italian port of Gioia Tauro brought the port police running. Opening the container, they were astounded to find a 43-year old Egyptian stowaway, identified as Rigk Amid Farid, boxed in amid the comforts of a luxury hotel suite outfitted for a three-week journey to Canada: bed, toilet, portable heater and water supply. His luggage contained a cell phone, satellite phone, computer and cameras, and he was equipped with a Canadian passport and airport maps, airside security passes and an airline mechanic certificate, all valid for New York's JFK, Newark, L.A. International and O'Hare airports.
(snip) ...likely a link in a comprehensive container route for smuggling terrorists into the United States. The Egyptian offices of Maersk Sealand are evidently deeply penetrated by al-Qaida agents. America will seek to shut them down in order to cut the route. According to international shipping circles, Maersk Sealand fears that if one office goes, its headquarters in other sensitive places in the Arab countries, Europe, Canada, Latin America, South Korea, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, in all of which al-Qaida has spread its tentacles, will be at risk.
5 posted on 10/30/2002 10:24:04 PM PST by NewRomeTacitus
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To: GirlShortstop
having handled a record 200,854 containers in 2001, up 13 percent from 2000, the agency said. The 2002 pace is 17 percent ahead of last year.

Of course those containers are coming in loaded, then going back empty....which could explain the daily deluge of layoffs in America....Unless you're a Longshoreman.

Sadly those people getting layed off despise the Longshoremen for being organized in protecting their job of bringing in the crap that's really put many of them out of work. Kind of like shooting the messenger for delivering bad news.

6 posted on 10/30/2002 10:49:48 PM PST by lewislynn
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To: lewislynn
Now we've seen the havoc raised through our "limited-shelf" plan to save money by depending on all the steps being stable at all times. This business model depends on a stable and sane world. Wish we had one.
7 posted on 11/02/2002 7:03:24 PM PST by NewRomeTacitus
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