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Tampa port courting new container traffic
By STEVE HUETTEL, Times Staff Writer
TAMPA -- A dozen companies have told the Tampa Port Authority they want to pitch proposals to build up the port's puny container cargo business. Expressions of interest have been submitted to the port in recent weeks from some major players in the maritime industry, including a Japanese giant that boasts the world's largest cargo fleet and a Seattle company that bills itself as the biggest privately owned container terminal operator. Port officials want to meet with the companies in the next two months and narrow the list to two or three competitors, said port director George Williamson. He hopes a deal can be wrapped up by mid year. "We need to find out which ones are just sniffing and which ones are serious," he said. "The key is who gives us the best opportunity to get some service in here soon." Bulk commodities -- fertilizer, phosphate and petroleum fuels -- have always dominated the port's cargo trade. But for the last two decades, manufactured goods and many agricultural products have been shipped almost exclusively in 20- and 40-foot-long metal containers. Port authority officials used to contend that Tampa was too far from shipping routes to Europe and Latin America to justify building container facilities. But they became more interested as Tampa Bay area companies such as Rooms to Go increasingly groused about the cost of trucking their products in containers to Miami for export. For the current fiscal year, the port authority budgeted $14-million to build a new container berth and $3.3-million to buy huge gantry cranes. Officials want to attract an experienced container company to build out the berth and attract shipping lines to make regular trips between Tampa and the Caribbean and Latin America. Companies that responded to the port's call for container proposals include: NYK Group. The Japanese company has a fleet of 100 vessels, including more than 70 container ships. Stevedoring Services of America. The Seattle company owns container terminals in 12 ports, including eight in the United States. CSX World Terminals. The subsidiary of Jacksonville-based CSX Corp. owns and operates the largest railroad system in the eastern United States. Tampa Marine Terminals. Canadian terminal operator Logistec and Tampa freight forwarder A.R. Savage & Son created this new partnership. -- Steve Huettel can be reached at huettel@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3384.
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From the Times Business report
From the AP
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