MORGAN CITY - The birthplace of the offshore oil exploration industry is now home to another industry worth more than a billion dollars annually.

All kinds of products are built and shipped from Morgan City's port year-round, around the world. That includes barracks ships for the U.S. Navy.

Besides being perfectly positioned for navigation to Canada, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, the area also provides the unique rural geography needed to build ships, huge pipelines, and SpaceX components on-site and ship them from the same location. There are more than 150 businesses along the Port of Morgan City's 28 miles of waterways, and that requires a large workforce.

The executive director of the Port of Morgan City spoke with WBRZ's April Davis while on a tour of the port.

"There are hundreds of people employed at all these different companies, hundreds at each one. They probably have 500 or 600 at the Oceaneering site. New Industries has over 400 people working right here," Raymond "Mac" Wade said.

Wade says Morgan City's population doubles during the day, from about 10,000 to about 20,000 people.