Justin Shares His Maritime Journey Leading Up to Ceres Terminals

Justin L. Butler started his journey with Ceres in July 2022 as the manager of cruise and ground transportation programs. He oversees cruise operations at the Galveston Cruise Terminal (GCT), a brand-new terminal owned by Ceres Terminals and Royal Caribbean Group. Justin has a wide range of maritime and military experience, with a focus on operations and security.

His previous profession was Facility Security Officer (FSO) and Operations Manager for Terminal Security Solutions, leading a team of 70+ members, providing terminal security and safeguarding services for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line and Disney Cruise Line for 5 ? years. Prior to becoming an FSO, Justin was a 13D - Field Artillery Automated Tactical Data Systems Specialist (FAATDS) for 3 years in the US Army.

Directly following his departure from the Army, he also attended school full-time to pursue a career as a U.S. Marshall. Justin made career adjustments afterward and switched majors to become a dental hygienist. As this phase was short-lived, he stuck with education. Justin chose education to give back to the community in a different way by molding the future generations to come! Justin achieved an associate degree in Teacher Education with a specialty in SPED, and a bachelor’s in literature with a minor in Psychology. When the time came to step into the classroom, he chose to remain in the cruise industry.

Prior to joining Ceres, he was approached by Robert Henkel, Vice President of Ceres Galveston, with whom he has worked with adjacently following the return from COVID-19 at Galveston’s Terminal 2, and Michael Ziesemer, General Manager for the Galveston Cruise Terminal. Although occupational specifics at GCT were not complete at the time, Justin was informed that one of his primary focal points would be the creation, development, and establishment of the Ceres Truck Dispatch System, powered by Voyage Control, that would assist with managing all provisions entering and exiting the security checkpoints.

Nevertheless, once Galveston Cruise Terminal 10 was completed in November 2022, Justin was ready to manage the new trucking program after joining the Ceres team and embarking on his new journey. Since then, Justin has pioneered the system's expansion to include any and all vehicles entering the security checkpoints with assistance from our amazing team in Vancouver, partners at RCCL, and support team at Voyage Control.

"We are the first to technologize the trucking operation at a cruise terminal in Galveston. We have the ability to safely stage 8-10 trucks onsite with the expectation of receiving 40-50+," said Justin Butler.

Justin mentioned that there is ‘ample space to expand as the booking system is not only assisting by reducing Ground Transportation congestion but functioning at an immensely high level.’ The platform and tools are one of GCT’s foundational factors to success with traffic management, keeping the congestion of vessel delivery vehicles and contract visitors to a minimum while eliminating potential issues throughout the guests’ experience. ?

Galveston Cruise Terminal operates 10-14 vessel calls per month. In May 2023, they processed 353 trucks and loaded 3936 pallets while utilizing Voyage Control. They have also put in place many safety features to help their team stay safe. Some safety measures that they put in place are developing a Traffic Management Plan to include Traffic Coordinator Positioning and Pedestrian Ground Transportation flow while emphasizing overall safety, safety signage, reporting forms, and much more.

Justin is one of the youngest facility security officers in the cruise industry managing multiple cruise operations at the age of 20. Currently, Justin exercises his experience and knowledge on all things security and x-ray while managing, and is the liaison, for Voyage Control, Terminal Events, Access Control, CCTV and Communications, Grounds Transportation, Traffic Coordination, and many other cruise programs.

“The relentless hard work and dedication we all put in every day is what makes us the best operating cruise terminal. There is never a dull moment with my team and finding what we have, and have built, somewhere else is next to none,” said Justin.

Fun Facts you may not know about Justin Butler:

• He was the first student in Galveston County to receive a Presidential Award from President Barack Obama during the Coca-Cola Scholarship reviews in 2014.
• He believes bacon can be put on anything and still be delicious!
• Justin loves spending time with his High School sweetheart of 10 years, now Fiancé, and his dogs.
• He has a Pitbull that acts like a Chihuahua, and Chihuahua that acts like a Pitbull.
• Justin loves to sing, and he writes poetry.
• Justin has 2 poems published and is working on a book. He will be performing in poetry slams over the coming months.

Justin’s favorite quote is by Rudy Francisco’s poem titled Complainers:

"It doesn't matter if the glass is half full or half empty, there’s water in the cup, drink it and stop complaining."