Louisiana
APM Terminals readies $500m investment in Louisiana – Splash247
APM Terminals has lined up $500m for a container terminal on the West Bank of Plaquemines Parish in Louisiana, US.
Maersk’s port operating arm, which currently operates four container terminals in the US and 62 globally, has executed a letter of intent with Plaquemines Port for a new terminal that is said to hold significant potential to enable new business west of the Mississippi River. It will be the port closest to the mouth of the river, with the widest ship turning radius.
“This major commitment shows the market’s tremendous confidence in Louisiana as the home of vibrant, growing port activity,” said Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, adding that the announcement “is a direct investment into the businesses and industries that have built Louisiana, and I look forward to the major impact our ports will continue to have on job growth and the economy here in our state.”
Plaquemines Port will lease the land to APM Terminals under a 30-year deal with extension options. APM Terminals estimates the initial investment in terminal infrastructure will be approximately $500 million, which will be privately funded.
The initial project, estimated to cost $500m will be privately funded. It will encompass 200 acres, on-dock rail, and a berth capable of handling 14,000 teu vessels, the largest now traversing the expanded Panama Canal. There will be options to expand the site up to 900 acres for terminal expansion and complementary logistics activities, APM Terminals said.
“In time, this greenfield site has all the potential to evolve into one of the big ship gateways into the US,” stated Wim Lagaay, APM Terminals’ senior investment advisor to the CEO.
“This venture allows us to build from the ground up, integrating cutting-edge technologies and sustainable practices to create a modern logistics hub that lifts standards of safety, efficiency, and productivity. Our collaboration with the Plaquemines Port and local stakeholders is key to developing a facility that sets new industry standards and serves as a boon to the economic vitality of the region,” Lagaay added.
Louisiana
After redistricting battles, Southern gathers for Juneteenth celebration: ‘Continue the fight’
Hundreds of community members, alumni and students gathered Thursday to observe Juneteenth on the Southern University campus in Baton Rouge.
The theme of the festivities was “celebrating freedom through culture and community,” but weeks after Louisiana’s bitter redistricting battles, the speakers Thursday morning had one message driving their remarks: Get out and vote.
“Freedom does not come in on the wheels of inevitability,” Louisiana Supreme Court Associate Justice John Michael Guidry said to the crowd. “But it takes the prodigious work and the tireless efforts of those who are willing to continue the fight.”
Great Beginnings summer camper Myni, 4, gets a hello kitty face painting during Southern’s Juneteenth celebration on Thursday, June 18, 2026 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Staff photo by Michael Johnson
The speech kicked off a day of discussions and cultural events centered on the holiday of Juneteenth, which commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union Gen. Gordon Granger brought news of emancipation to enslaved people in Texas more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued.
Speakers at Southern emphasized the need for protection of hard-won rights for Black Americans in the context of redistricting. The sentiments followed a contentious state legislative session that ended with the elimination of one of Louisiana’s two majority-Black congressional districts after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais.
“That Voting Rights Act is under attack,” Guidry said. “There’s voter intimidation, there’s voter suppression, there are voter ID laws and all types of laws and legal decisions that are trying to deny us our right to vote, and we are the ones who have to go forward and litigate these issues.”
The day opened with a libation ceremony and a rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by Southern University student Claire Floyd.
Southern University alumnus Jeanet Cazenave said she felt it was important to celebrate Juneteenth on campus as not only a relative of the first dean of Southern University but also a descendant of the GU272, a group of enslaved individuals who were sold to plantations in Louisiana in 1838 by Jesuit priests to pay the debts of what is now Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
Juneteenth “means everything,” Cazenave said. “It means the past, the present and the future.”
BATON ROUGE, La. (KLFY) — Governor Landry has officially declared Louisiana under state of emergency.
The state emergency declaration covers Avoyelles, Lafourche, Pointe Coupee, St. Landry, St. Tammany and Terrebonne parishes.
The declaration was issued Thursday following the impacts of Tropical Storm Arthur, which brough rainfall and strong storms to parts of the state on June 17 and 18.
Officials said the National Weather Service has confirmed three tornadoes tied to the storm system.
Officials also reported record or near-record rainfall totals in Avoyelles and Pointe Coupee parishes over a 12-hour period.
The order allows the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness to coordinate resources and provide assistance to local governments if needed.
Certain state purchasing and bidding requirements have been temporarily suspended to speed up emergency response efforts.
The declaration took effect immediately and will remain in place through July 18 unless it is lifted or extended.
State officials are urging residents to stay weather aware, avoid flooded roadways and follow guidance from local emergency managers.
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