Chairman of the Port Commission, Janiece Longoria was bestowed, by royal decree, the distinction of Commander of the Order of the Crown by HRH Princess Astrid of Belgium at the Port of Antwerp and Port Houston’s joint supply chain seminar December 8.. The theme of the seminar was “building the supply chain of the future.”

Chairman Longoria was given the award for her lifetime of meritorious service, the port's efforts in developing bilateral trade with Belgium and her leadership in the maritime industry since joining the port commission in 2002.  She was appointed Chairman in 2013 by the City of Houston and Harris County. “Port Houston is committed to its deep long standing partnership with the Port of Antwerp. Our organizations will continue this tradition by further developing trade, sharing best practices and building on the legacy of those leaders that came before us,” she said.

Port Houston and the Port of Antwerp have been sister ports since 2014 and have collaborated closely to improve cargo flows and help joint customers in both of sides of the Atlantic to improve the supply chain by delivering true value to beneficial cargo owners, ocean carriers and all parties in the supply chain.

Willem Dillen, head of business development for Antwerp Port Authority, and John Moseley, senior director of trade development for Port Houston, provided a presentation on their collaboration. "Supply chains have become more challenging and our ports share a lot of business, common customers and similarities, especially involving the Petrochemical industry.  We joined together in this effort in order to make the supply chain between our ports more resilient, robust and efficient.  This is how our customers will benefit from port collaboration between Houston and Antwerp,” remarked Moseley.

The seminar was held at the Four Seasons Hotel.