Brownsville Ship Channel: an Industrial Hub

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – Anyone still thinking the Brownsville Ship Channel is a dormant body of water mainly used by fishing enthusiasts going after the various fish species found there, think again.

Built from 1934 through 1936, the deepwater channel was dug out for the shipping industry to send cotton, grain and other commodities from the Rio Grande Valley to places all over. And now it’s now an industrial hub that employ tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs.

The 17-mile channel runs from the tip of the South Padre Island/Boca Chica Beach to the Turning Basin and the offices of the Brownsville Navigation District (BND).

Today, several commercial tenants are doing business here, making the channel one of the Valley’s busiest places where manufacturing takes place.

The Valley has traditionally lagged behind the rest of the country when it comes to making industrial products but has had its share of warehousing an array of things for the automobile, electronic and, to some extent, the seafood industries.

But the ship channel hosts a number of tenants, including the nation’s largest shipyard, two liquified natural gas companies, an offshore rig maker and even a rocket manufacturer located on one end of South Bay, another body of water accessed via the channel.

The channel also hosts two shrimp basins that more than 350 trawlers still call home.

Some years back, as many as 700 trawlers docked at the Brownsville and Port Isabel basins but this industry has been battered by rising costs and cheap foreign imports.

Part of the multibillion dollar Rio Grande LNG project as seen from the ship channel. (Photo: Antonio Vindell/RGG)

Against that background, a South Padre Island-based company is making trips to the port highlighting the history, the present and the future of the ship channel and the Laguna Madre as well.

Called Isla Tours, the company is part of Capt. Murphy Charter Services, which includes dolphin watching, bay and deep fishing and a party boat for a particular occasion.

Isla Tour is now making daily four-hour tours from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

On a recent tour, Patrick Murphy gave a comprehensive presentation of the ship channel as he guided a boat along the journey.

Some of data he shared with the passengers on board included the following:

–        The Laguna Madre is the second saltiest bay in the world.

–        The Cristo de los Pescadores statue on Island Blanca Park is a replica of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, statue.

–        Commercial ship wrecking is the third most dangerous job today.

–        SPI is the longest reef island on the Planet Earth.

–        The Queen Isabella Memorial Bridge was originally named after President John F. Kennedy.

That said, Murphy also mentioned the economic role the port plays in the Valley, the state and the country.

A U.S. Navy ship waiting to be dismantled at the shipyard. (Photo: Antonio Vindell/RGG)

BND owns 40,000 acres of land, has one than one million square feet of buildings, and more than three million of covered storage. It has an economic impact of more than $4.5 billion, has the nation’s top three Foreign Trade Zones and has six liquid and 13 dry cargo docks and its top commodities are petroleum products, steel and metals today.

The channel is also getting deeper, or from its existing 42 to 52 feet, and as many as three dredgers are scheduled to be there soon.

Among those who took a recent tour aboard Murphy’s boat were Deana Black of Houston, Steve Minerva of Pittsburg, Mo., and Jake and Becky McDonald of Iowa.

They said the tour was extremely informative and fun as Murphy kept entertaining them with jokes and doggie barks.

The four-hour daily tour includes hot coffee, donuts and gulf –caught boiled shrimp.

Anyone wanting to learn something new or more about the ship channel, the bay, the port and the surrounding area, call 956-761-4752.

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