November/December 2013
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The Port of Baltimore
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PORT
SOUNDINGS
NEWSMAKERS
Port Administration Signs Agreement
with French Port of Calais
I
ncreasing maritime business opportunities is the aim of a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in October by
the Maryland Port Administration (MPA) and the French Port
of Calais.
“We look forward to utilizing this agreement as a way
to generate new cargo opportunities and to share best
practices with the Port of Calais,” said Richard Powers, MPA
Director of Marketing. “Calais has a wonderful history that
dates back centuries. Today it is one of the largest ports in
France and handles some of the same commodities as the
Port of Baltimore.”
Under the MOU, the MPA and Port of Calais may elect
to undertake joint marketing efforts to generate new
shipping business, share data that may be helpful in
forecasting future trade flows, and exchange information
on training programs.
“We look forward to developing mutually beneficial
business opportunities as part of our newly signed
agreement,” said Port of Calais Vice President Antoine Ravisse.
“We believe there are some good opportunities for further
cooperation with the Port of Baltimore, especially with the
cargo commodities we both have in common, which include
From left, Thomas Lyons, Director of the European Office for the
Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development; Richard
Powers, Director of Marketing for the Maryland Port Administration;
Antoine Ravisse, Port of Calais Vice President; and Jean-Yves Lhomme,
Head of Project Department for the Port of Calais.
roll-on/roll-off equipment, autos and cruises. Our goal is a
good exchange of information that can benefit both parties.”
The MPA has similar agreements with other international
ports, including Adani Ports (India); Nagoya (Japan); Gdynia
(Poland); Genoa (Italy); Sokhna (Egypt); Tallin (Estonia) and
Cotonou (Africa).
BILL MCALLEN
F
rank Hamons, Deputy Director for
Harbor Development, retired at the
end of October after 34 years with
the Maryland Port Administration (MPA).
During his tenure, he oversaw projects
such as Hart-Miller Island, Poplar Island
and Masonville Cove that became national
models for using dredged materials
to restore habitat while involving
surrounding communities in the process.
Hamons spent 13 years at the Mary-
land Department of Natural Resources,
where he designed a program to use
state-of-the-art monitoring for a stalled
Kent Island dredging project in order to
reassure the community that the dredg-
ing could be done without environmental
damage. That caught the attention of
the MPA, and he was asked to develop a
dredged materials program.
“It’s received a lot of recognition from
the federal government and others; I’m
awfully proud of the program,” Hamons
said. “We are taking what was once
controversial — dredged materials — and
creating habitat.”
Hamons minimized objections
by reaching out to the communities
involved. “They’ve responded well,
and that’s one of the best benefits of
this program,” he said. One of the first
dredged materials projects, Hart-Miller
Island, went all the way to the Supreme
Court. But the most recent project,
Masonville Cove, held a public hearing
without a single objection.
“It’s been a wonderful run,” Hamons
said. “I’ve been able to spend the last 34
years working on something that needed
to be done, and that’s very satisfying.”
David Blazer, who has worked under
Hamons for three years, will take over
harbor development projects.
NEWSMAKERS
MPA Harbor Development Leader Retires
