The Florida Ports Council is the professional association for Florida's 15 public seaports, providing advocacy, leadership and research on seaport policy. Contact: Mr. Doug Wheeler, President and CEO, Florida Ports Council, 502 E. Jefferson St., Tallahassee, FL 32301. Phone: (850) 222-8028. Fax: (850) 222-7552. Email: doug@flaports.org. Website: www.flaports.org. (AAPA Sustaining Member) Senstar provides perimeter fiber and coax security solutions, digital microwave systems, cyber security for card access, CCTV, and wireless cargo cranes. Contact: Mr. Kerry L. Martin, Regional Sales Manager, Senstar, Inc., P.O. Box 773, Cypress, TX 77410. Phone: 800-676-3300 / 713-304-4445. Fax: (866) 559-2549. Email: klmartin@senstar.com. Website: www.senstar.com. (AAPA Sustaining Member)

Dredging at the Port of Houston Authority's Barbours Cut Container Terminal is now complete. The Houston Pilots Association has authorized the port authority to receive vessels with 45-foot operating drafts at the terminal.

Standard & Poor’s Rating Services has affirmed its "A" rating and state outlook assessment of Port Freeport’s senior-lien revenue refunding bonds and revenue notes.

September 30 marked the 15th anniversary of year-round cruising at the Port of Galveston. Since the inaugural sailing of Carnival Lines’ Celebration the port’s refurbished Texas Cruise Ship Terminal on Pelican Island on September 30, 2000, Galveston has hosted 18 cruise ships, 2643 cruise ship calls and more than 7.0 million cruise passengers. The Panama Canal’s 2015-16 cruise ship season officially began October 3 with the transit of Costa Luminosa, on a round-the-world voyage from Italy. Approximately 220 cruise ships are expected to traverse the waterway through the end of the season in April 2016.

Findings from its 10th consecutive year of tracking air pollution show the Port of Los Angeles set new records for cutting harmful emissions from port-related sources. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently awarded the Port of Oakland $277,885 to upgrade cargo-handling equipment and reduce exhaust emissions at TraPac, one of the port’s five marine terminals. Port Everglades has received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for Cruise Terminal 4. The facility underwent many energy-efficient improvements when it was expanded and completely renovated during the past year.

The State of Indiana has joined the Province of Québec in a partnership aimed at promoting Great Lakes/St. Lawrence System shipping and maritime economic development, with particular focus on short-sea shipping.

A new economic impact study concludes that jobs tied to maritime activity at the Port of New York and New Jersey increased to 336,600 in 2014 from 296,000 in 2012. Personal and business incomes, as well as federal, state, and local tax revenues associated with the bi-state seaport, also increased in that same period.

Georgia Ports Authority handled record numbers of containers, cargo tons, and vehicles at its facilities in Savannah and Brunswick during FY 2015, and will invest $142 million in capital improvements in FY 2016, said GPA Executive Director Curtis Foltz in his annual State of the Port Address.

Centurion Terminals broke ground last month at the Port of Brownsville for a crude oil handling terminal that is expected to generate more than 500 jobs while under construction and create 35 permanent jobs when fully operational in the third quarter of 2016.

The American Association of Port Authorities will again this year be partnering with Naylor Association Solutions to produce the print and digital editions of the 2016 Seaports of the Americas Membership Directory. In order to make including your information as simple as possible, we will be using an online verification system to allow you to confirm your firm's information on the web.