JOHN FITZHUGH/SUN HERALD/2013 A truck drives away from the Huntington Ingalls Industries Composite Center of Excellence in Gulfport 2013 after Huntington Ingalls closed the facility. The state Port at Gulfport is buying the property and already has a tenant leased to the land.
JOHN FITZHUGH — SUN HERALD Buy Photo
GULFPORT — The Port of Gulfport is paying $32 million, with a tenant already signed up, for property on Seaway Road where Huntington Ingalls closed a shipyard in 2013.
Topship LLC, an affiliate of Louisiana-based Edison Chouest Offshore, has signed a 40-year lease on the 116 acres. Jonathan Daniels, the port's executive director, said Topship will complete engineering studies on the property before finalizing plans for its business.
The site has 400,000 square feet for storage and several structures. It also has an outdoor storage area, rail access, a shallow-draft canal where barges can be loaded and quick interstate access.
Daniels said Topship will make a $16 million prepayment on its lease of $84,000 a month. The remainder of the property purchase price will come from port reserves.
Jobs at Topship will count toward a federal requirement that the port create 1,300 jobs in exchange for $580 million in post-Hurricane Katrina funding for restoration and expansion on the Mississippi Sound. The Seaway Road property will serve as an inland port, an approved activity under the port's federal action plan.
"Today is another significant step in progress as we continue to position the Port of Gulfport to successfully recruit companies to Mississippi to create high-quality jobs in the Gulf Coast region," Daniels said. "The addition of this facility to the Port of Gulfport's infrastructure provides significant opportunities for diversifying the current tenant and cargo mix. This acquisition was a key driver in securing our new partnership with Topship, and we look forward to an announcement on that project in the near future."
Edison Chouest-affiliated shipyard Gulf Ship opened in 2006 on the Industrial Canal off Seaway Road. Gary Chouest, CEO of Edison Chouest Offshore, said in a news release: "We are excited to establish our new business affiliate Topship LLC in the state of Mississippi.
"Development of the Port's inland port facility, and our long term lease of the property, provides a unique opportunity to seamlessly link to the development at the restored port of Gulfport. As we have already learned in the operation of our Gulf Ship facility, the Gulfport region will provide us access to a quality workforce. We appreciate the cooperation and support of the port of Gulfport, state and local officials who are providing a business friendly environment to grow our company."
The deal with Topship increases the port's profile in the offshore energy-services industry. McDermott International Inc. arrives Monday to start a spool-base pipe-fabrication plant at the main port that will support the oil-services industry.
Daniels said maintenance dredging at the port should be completed in the next few weeks. A University of Southern Mississippi research vessel that will be based at the port arrives Sunday night, he said.
