WJ: APH cancels agreement with Plaquemines Port, begins negotiating with ‘existing terminal’

Waterways Journal reports:

After almost six years working exclusively with the Plaquemines Port Harbor & Terminal District (PPHTD) to develop a new intermodal container terminal on the Lower Mississippi River near West Pointe à la Hache, La., and deploy a fleet of inland container vessels to connect that port to Midwest markets, American Patriot Holdings (APH) has canceled its exclusivity agreement.

Now, APH is moving ahead with Phase 1 plans to build the first four of its inland container vessels and has begun negotiating with an “existing terminal” that could serve as the initial southernmost hub for moving containerized cargoes between the Gulf Coast and Memphis, Tenn. Phase 2 would bring additional vessels online, with service extending upriver to other ports in the Midwest.

News of the canceled exclusivity agreement broke during the July 14 meeting of the PPHTD board of commissioners—more than a month after APH notified the port’s executive director, Sandy Sanders, of its decision…

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