Henry Porretto on Galveston Port Pilot Board Controversy

(Newswire.net — March 29, 2018) Mathis, TX — The port of Galveston, Texas is one of the state’s largest commercial ports, responsible for bringing goods and personnel in and out of the state. One of the port’s largest generators of revenue is that of cruise line operation. Over the past year, controversy has swirled around the port’s Board of Pilot Commissioners and their role in weather delays and rising tariff rates as they relate to cruise ships entering and leaving Galveston’s harbor. Henry Porretto, a seasoned law enforcement veteran and Board member, knows that the Board’s makeup and powers are being questioned by the cruise ship industry, which has accused the port and its leaders of retaliatory rate increases. “Weather patterns in the Gulf have contributed to dangerous fog, reducing ship pilots’ ability to safely navigate the Port here in Galveston,” says Mr. Porretto, former Chief of Police for the City of Galveston Police Department. “Cruise line operators have claimed that any fog delays are a form of pushback against complaints that pilots are overcharging for their services.” Mr. Porretto has been vocal about this issue in months past; he went on record to discuss similar issues back in August, 2017. To read his previous thoughts on the pilot controversy, visit https://newswire.net/newsroom/pr/00097464-henry-porretto-to-publicly-air-concerns-on-fog-delays.html.

Fog delays have impacted port operations, leading to the cruise line operators complaining about port services and lost income due to the delays. The Board of Pilot Commissioners oversees the 16-member Galveston-Texas City Pilots Association, which is tasked with providing ship piloting services in and out of the busy commercial port. The Pilots Association charges a tariff on foreign-flagged vessels using port facilities, including oil tankers, cruise vessels, and cargo container ships. Tariff rates have increased in recent years; a proposed three-year increase of 30% in tariff rates was successfully negotiated to a one-year increase of 16% by the Board and CEOs of several cruise lines after shipping interests filed a lawsuit. This rate agreement was not sufficient to allay the concerns of cruise operators, who believe that the Board and the pilots it oversees are using fog delays as an excuse to limit port operations. With over $38 million in revenue at stake, the Port of Galveston is seeking public input by raising awareness of the issue at hand. Mr. Porretto believes that the Board and its pilots have shipping safety at the forefront of operational considerations. “Ship pilots follow state safety statutes to the letter,” says Porretto. “When weather conditions limit operations, it is simply unsafe to continue moving vessels in and out of port facilities. To suggest that our pilots are using weather as an excuse is folly.” For more information on Henry Porretto and his lengthy career in the law enforcement communities of Texas, visit https://www.crunchbase.com/person/henry-porretto.