Barbours Cut Terminal facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Barbours Cut Container Terminal |
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| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| Location | Morgan's Point, Texas |
| Coordinates | 29°40′55″N 94°59′54″W / 29.68194°N 94.99833°W |
| Details | |
| Opened | 1977 |
| Operated by | Port of Houston Authority |
| Owned by | City of Houston |
| Type of harbor | Natural / artificial |
| Land area | 250 acres (100 ha) |
| Available berths | 6 |
| Wharfs | 6,000 feet (1,800 m) |
| Loading area | 230 acres (93 ha) |
| Warehouse space | 255,000 square feet (23,700 m2) |
| Statistics | |
| Annual cargo tonnage | 15.4 million short tons / 17.0 million metric tons (2007) |
| Website http://www.portofhouston.com |
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The Barbours Cut Container Terminal is a very important port in Texas, a state in the United States. It is often called the Barbours Cut Terminal. This port is a "deep water" port, meaning it can handle very large ships. It is a key part of the Port of Houston, which is one of the busiest ports in the world for moving cargo.
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Where is Barbours Cut Terminal?
The Barbours Cut Terminal is located along the Barbours Cut Ship Channel. This channel is between the towns of La Porte and Morgan's Point, Texas. It connects to the larger Houston Ship Channel.
The Houston Ship Channel is like a big water highway. It runs from the city of Houston, through Galveston Bay, all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. The terminal is about 27 miles (43 km) from downtown Houston. It is also close to a large industrial area called the Battleground Industrial District.
History of the Terminal
The Barbours Cut Terminal first opened in 1977. Building it cost about US$53 million back then. This was a big investment!
The new terminal had a great advantage over older ports. Ships could reach Barbours Cut in only three hours from the Gulf of Mexico. Older ports, like the Turning Basin terminal, took six hours or more. This saved a lot of time for ships.
By 2007, the terminal was very busy. It handled 15.4 million short tons (17.0 million metric tons) of cargo. This included over one million large cargo containers. The terminal helps create thousands of jobs in the Galveston Bay Area. It is also a major part of the economy for the whole Houston area.
What the Terminal Does
Barbours Cut is the largest terminal within the big Port of Houston complex. It was the first port in Texas to handle special cargo containers. These are big, standardized boxes used to ship goods around the world.
The terminal has six places for ships to dock, called berths. These berths have 6,000 feet (1,829 meters) of continuous wharfs. A wharf is like a long dock where ships can load and unload.
The area for loading and unloading cargo is huge, covering 230 acres (93 hectares). There is also a lot of warehouse space, about 255,000 square feet (23,690 square meters). The water in the channel is 40 feet (12 meters) deep, even at low tide. This depth allows very large cargo ships to come and go.
The terminal also has a place for cruise ships. Until 2007, Norwegian Cruise Line used to run cruises from here. Right now, no cruise lines are operating from this terminal.
Caring for the Environment
Barbours Cut was the first port in the United States to use the ISO 14001 standard. This is a strict set of rules to help businesses reduce their impact on the environment. It shows a commitment to being more eco-friendly.
However, environmental groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council have pointed out areas for improvement. They believe the port needs to do more to reduce its effects on air and water quality. This shows that balancing busy port operations with protecting the environment is an ongoing challenge.
