GALVESTON — Marine cargo and cruise ship traffic at island docks generate more than 11,000 direct and indirect jobs and pump $1 billion into Texas’ economy, according to a study released Monday by the Port of Galveston.

The $65,000 study commissioned by the port in July last year could help the waterfront better position itself for federal funding to repair docks and other infrastructure knocked askew by Hurricane Ike on Sept. 13, officials say.

The study underscores what managers have known all along — that cargo and passengers moving through the port make jobs and generate revenue for support businesses.

“It tells me what we’ve been working on for a long time, the fruition of jobs,” said Gerald Sullivan, chairman of the Wharves Board of Trustees, the Port of Galveston’s governing board. “I’m really pleased about that.”

Where They Live

But there also were surprises, as the study offered new insight to where waterfront workers live.

Harbor-wide business cargo and cruise business generate 3,074 direct jobs, according to the study. About 42 percent of the workers live on the island, 15.8 percent in Dickinson and 14.7 percent in Friendswood, with the remainder around Galveston and Harris counties.

The Port of Galveston, which serves the offshore energy industry and operates the No. 4 cruise-ship terminal in North America, makes money by renting warehouses and docks to businesses, creating jobs for 338 unionized dockworkers who handle such cargo.

Cargo that generates the most direct jobs include bananas and fruit, 260; grain, 145; and farm equipment, 111.

Cruising Along

Cruise ships, which began sailing from the island eight years ago, generate about $5 million a year for the port and create big economic ripples in the region, according to the study. Based on 211 cruise ship calls last year, the island cruise industry generated $83.7 million in wages and salaries. Passenger and crew spending also converts into island jobs at hotels, restaurants and stores, according to the study.

Release of the study comes as Miami-based Carnival Cruise Lines passenger ships, which have been sailing from Houston since Hurricane Ike, return to the island Saturday. The port has repaired the Cruise Ship Terminal No. 1 and is working to repair its second terminal ahead of the Dec. 13 arrival of the 3,114-passenger Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Sea. The Voyager sails seasonally from the island.

The port is prepared to handle passengers Saturday when the 2,052-passenger Carnival Ecstasy resumes year-round, four- and five-day cruises from the island, officials said. The 2,974-passenger Carnival Conquest will begin year-round, seven-day sailing from the island Sunday.

‘Challenges Ahead’

Martin Associates based its report on 116 telephone interviews with port tenants, users and service providers. Those interviews were conducted before the storm.

Some tenants, including shipyard Gulf Copper Drydock & Rig Repair, which also generates about $5 million in yearly revenues for the port, have been out of commission as they await repairs to their buildings. The storm also damaged the grain elevator, which has not resumed operations. Port Director Steve Cernak said he expected all tenants to return by the year’s end, however.

“There are some challenges ahead,” Cernak said. “But we will retain our tenants and recover.”

During the hurricane, the port sustained damage to docks, warehouses, security equipment and levees that keep dredge spoils contained on Pelican Island. It had been on track to make a record $25 million in revenues this year. The port, which has insurance, still is calculating how the storm will change those projections.

Good timing

But it also is seeking help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Days after the storm, Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas, also a member of the port’s governing board, traveled to Washington, D.C., to ask federal lawmakers for $2.4 billion in disaster relief for Galveston institutions, including $500 million for the port.

Port officials commissioned the study to have an impartial assessment of what the waterfront contributes to the region, they said. They had planned to use it to secure federal funding for dredging projects. Port officials now plan to also present the study to FEMA to show the port’s importance to the region, Cernak said.

“The timing is a good thing,” Cernak said. “It will help us rebuild.”

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At a glance

Among study highlights, the public docks and private businesses in the harbor generate:

•11,403 direct, induced and indirect jobs

•$587.8 million in wages, salaries and consumption

•$1 billion in economic values ($260 million in local purchases)

•$54.6 million in state and local taxes