Port of Galveston delays master-plan deadline as new Pelican Island talks, cruise growth and rail interest emerge

Port of Galveston officials told a joint meeting of the city council and the port trustees that the port will likely extend the deadline for an updated master plan so consultants can incorporate recent developments, including confidential discussions about Pelican Island and expanded cruise- and cargo-related activity.

"We're in the middle of a lot of things," Roger Reese, Port of Galveston director, said. "We're in the middle of three different nondisclosure agreements — two with cruise lines — and a third cruise line wants to discuss expansion. And then the cargo business is what we've asked them to really focus on." Reese said that rail companies have also approached the port about expanding operations on Galveston.

The master plan adopted in 2019 guided the port through several projects; Reese and Port Chairman Vic Pearson said consultants are now researching market demand for cruise passengers and cargo trade routes and have produced preliminary projections suggesting higher potential cruise-market reach than previously estimated.

"We used to say 30 million people within eight hours," Reese said of a market-area figure the consultant provided. "They're now saying 40. They went out and did a lot of research and literally looked at almost county by county within an eight hour [drive]." That data, he said, supports increased cruise activity in the region.

Pearson and trustees also briefed council on work tied to the port's West End construction, which is reducing current tonnage during active construction but is required to complete two berths now under construction and a third slip that must still be filled. Reese estimated that filling a single slip costs roughly $30 million, with about $15 million of that for fill materials.

Trustees and council members discussed an emerging, potentially transformative opportunity on Pelican Island that Reese said is covered by an NDA and could be a "game changer" for the port and the city; he asked the consultants to incorporate such developments into the updated plan rather than publishing a plan that would require quick, large changes afterward.

Battleship Texas: site and insurance remain open questions

Trustees also reported progress on a proposed location for the Battleship Texas at Pier 15. Vice Chairman Jeff Patterson said Port staff and pilots steered the Battleship Texas Foundation away from piers parallel to the channel for navigational and storm-protection reasons and offered Pier 15 as an appropriate location. The foundation has accepted that location but must complete engineering, insurance and dredging work before a formal operating agreement is finalized.

"The biggest thing we're left with is the insurance," Patterson said, describing discussions about catastrophic-liability coverage and whether the Battleship Texas Foundation can obtain a commercially affordable policy. "One of the options is that the state of Texas can veil (assist) … but that's the sticking point we're trying to work through."

Council members and trustees discussed technical issues for placing the ship at Pier 15, including the pier's structural soundness, dredging the berth area and how visitors would access an elevated ship (gangways, terminal-level access or a built structure). Port staff said the Battleship Texas Foundation would be financially responsible for pier engineering, dredging and related shore-side improvements as part of a future operating agreement.

Dredging and federal funding

Council members and port staff discussed recent high-level federal activity on dredging. Council Member Alex (last name not specified in the transcript) thanked port officials for lobbying Washington and noted a provision in a federal bill that would authorize funds for the Galveston Ship Channel. Port officials said the appropriation language in congressional bills (still subject to passage and signature) would target the Galveston Ship Channel and related dredging; they cautioned that authorization in a bill is not an automatic award and that the dredge-spoils placement and funding details would need federal and local coordination.

Why this matters

Trustees argued the port must fold current confidential negotiations and new funding opportunities into the master-plan update so the plan reflects likely near-term investments and avoids repeated revisions. Council members emphasized that any port-led changes affecting city infrastructure or requiring city support should be coordinated with the city and noted the port's reliance on reserves and debt service assumptions as it finishes multiple capital projects.

What’s next

Port staff said the consultant team will conduct interviews, public meetings and trustee and council briefings as the next steps in the update. Reese said the port expects to formalize public engagement choices and then recommend how long to extend the consultant's work to include the new information. Trustees said they will return to the council with refinements once consultant baseline work is complete.

"We want to start this next master plan from what we know rather than start it out and then change it a month later," Reese said.