July Commerce Club Featuring Geir Eilif Kalhagen, Maritime Division Director, TxDOT
Maritime Division Collaborates, Communicates for Economic Vitality of Texas Seaports
Geir Elif Kalhagen, Maritime Division Director of the Texas Department of Transportation, presented an overview of the work of the Maritime Division at the July Commerce Club.
“I cannot express the importance of the collective contributions of everybody that's in this room to the success of the Texas economic maritime story,” said Kalhagen as he introduced his presentation. “I can't stress enough how important we value our relationships with the maritime community and welcome your input.”
The Maritime Division objects are to (1) partner to support economic vitality and impact; (2) collaborate with stakeholders to identify opportunities and develop solutions system-wide; and, (3) communicate the essential need for investment in Texas ports.
Three funding sources are managed by the Maritime Division: the Ship Channel Revolving Fund (“SCRF”), the Seaport Connectivity Fund, and the Port Infrastructure Fund. They are also the non-federal sponsors of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. The Maritime Division also focuses on beneficial use of dredge material placements, promote waterborne transportation, and collaborates with stakeholders. They also developed the Texas Port Mission Plan in coordination with the Port Authority Advisory Committee.
In 2025, the Maritime Division has worked more closely with the Governor's Economic Development and Tourism Office to highlight the value of the Texas infrastructure to foreign investment. They also work with the Texas Energy Coalition to stress the connection of the coast to the work in West Texas.
Kalhagen discussed the economic impact of Texas seaports, particularly noting the cargoes of Port Houston and the Houston Ship Channel maritime industry. The Texas Port Mission Plan outlined $9.16 billion in funding needs for the 89th Texas Legislative Session. Only $40 million for Texas seaport connectivity projects was allocated. Now, the Maritime Division is working for the 90th Texas Legislative Session by preparing what he called “a SWOT [strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats] analysis framework” to underscore the cost of lost opportunity when investment is not made in port infrastructure. They plan to track the path of commodities (origination to destination) to get “a true representation of what the Texas port system means to the entirety of the state and the nation”. They will update economic impacts statistics and create a GIS story map as part of the plan. Noting the high priority that has currently been placed on domestic shipbuilding by national policymakers, Kalhagen said there is an immense opportunity to position Texas as a leader in this industry.
Waterways technology is another important part of the work of the Maritime Division. They are developing an AIS system they hope to launch by the end of the year. They are seeking to utilize bathymetric data and “digital twin” to model waterways through channel depth collection. This will help identify shoaling spots and address them more immediately as well as better prepare for the impact of weather events.
Kalhagen also highlighted the Maritime Division’s survey to identify bridges over navigable waterways. They discovered TxDOT’s Bridge Division does not know what lies beneath bridges that are over water, but rather only has data for the highways under a bridge. Consequently, the Marine Division has been putting together an AIS map to show all bridges on navigable waterways and their tributaries. The goal is to increase safety to avoid possible allisions, then work with ports and navigation districts to place sensors on the most critical bridges at risk for allisions.
“To wrap it up, we value strong partnerships. We're very, very fortunate to have them with all our Texas ports, the Coast Guard, the Pilots, and the Army Corps,” concluded Kalhagen. “I thank you for sharing your time with me here today.”
Thank you to our Commerce Club sponsors!
Annual Table sponsors:
Callan Marine • Chevron/Kirby • Enterprise Products Partners • Kinder Morgan • Houston Pilots • Intercontinental Terminals Company • Moran Shipping Agencies, Inc. • Pemex • Port Houston • Targa Resources • TGS Ceder Port Industrial Park • WGMA
July Table sponsors: