Houston gives up on cruising

Port of Houston's passenger Gangway

The Houston Port Authority’s gangways used for passenger embarkation have been put up for sale as part of a withdrawal from the cruise business.

Commissioners approved an agenda item to declare the passenger access gangway system at the Bayport Terminal “surplus property” and authorized its sale through a formal competitive bid or auction.

Houston was left without a cruise ship at Bayport when Norwegian Cruise Line opted to drop calls from its 2016-17 schedule. That followed a similar decision by Princess Cruises.

Both lines had returned in 2012 to Bayport, taking advantage of $7 million in marketing incentives from the port authority. The deals have expired. 

Texas cruise calls have consolidated at Galveston, which is closer to open ocean and less subject to fog problems than the Bayport Terminal, which was built at a cost of $108 million.

The authority has signed a lease for land that includes the terminal with Auto Warehousing Co., a nationwide provider of auto storage and processing services, according to Houston media reports.