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\n\nI will recommend restricting state funds for ports that work with Cuba in my budget. (2/3)
— Rick Scott (@FLGovScott) January 25, 2017
\n\nWe cannot condone Raul Castro’s oppressive behavior. Serious security/human rights concerns. (3/3)
— Rick Scott (@FLGovScott) January 25, 2017
Scott’s position came a day after the first legal cargo from Cuba — artisanal charcoal — in more than half a century arrived Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades. The Port of Palm Beach is located in Riviera Beach.
Jackie Schutz, a Scott spokeswoman, said the governor doesn’t oppose private shipping companies bringing Cuban cargo, as Crowley Maritime did to bring the charcoal to Port Everglades. He only takes issue with the ports themselves inking memorandums of understanding with the Cuban government.
The governor will make his request to the Legislature, which ultimately sets the state budget and can ignore Scott if it wishes. The Florida Department of Transportation’s budget shows more than $37 million budgeted for Port Everglades projects over the next five years — including $23 million for a dredging the port has sought for three decades — and $920,000 for the Port of Palm Beach.
The ports did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A Port of Palm Beach spokeswoman said the executive director would respond to questions later Wednesday.
Jim Pyburn, Port Everglades’ director of business development, told the Miami Herald on Tuesday, before Scott revealed his position, that the port’s deal with the National Port Administration of Cuba — in the works since early 2016 and ready to sign since last May — could lead to joint marketing studies and training.
“We would like to see U.S. exports to Cuba increase,” he said. “Imports are good, too.”
A Cuban delegation plans to visit a number of ports over the coming week, including Port Tampa Bay, which does not have an imminent deal with the country in the works.
“Our port has taken a very cautious approach to Cuba,” said Ed Miyagishima, Port Tampa Bay’s vice president for communications and external affairs. “The port itself is Cuba-ready, in the sense that we’re ready with work with all the entities, but we’re taking a very conservative approach. We are not signing an MOU with the Cuban government, just because there’s so much ambiguity in Cuba policy right now.”
Executive orders issued by former President Barack Obama over the past two years eased some Cuba-related trade restrictions, making shipping agreements possible. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was asked Tuesday if President Trump planned quick Cuba action of his own, perhaps to reverse some of Obama’s work, as Trump said he would do absent a more favorable arrangement for the U.S.
“We’ve got nothing that we’re ready to announce,” Spicer said.
","kicker":"","text_alignment":"Left","href":"/web/v1/content/128717474","allow_ads":true,"allow_stn_player":true,"byline":"","template_type":"","story_teaser":"","lead_media":{"id":"128717469","url":"https://www.bradenton.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/iunj6t/picture128717469","asset_type":"picture","state":"published","title":"Zika Florida (1)","publication":"bradenton","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/36807","modified_date":1485377835,"allow_comments":false,"published_date":1485377835,"thumbnail":"https://www.bradenton.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/iunj6t/picture128717469/alternates/FREE_1140/Zika%20Florida%20(1)","href":"/web/v1/content/128717469","access_tags":["matbasic"],"additional_sections":["36807"],"credit":"AP","dateline":"","caption":"Florida Gov. Rick Scott, pictured here in Miami in August, wants to retaliate against seaports that sign business agreements with the Cuban government.","photographer":"Alan Diaz","is_mugshot":false,"text_alignment":"Default","summary":"","byline":"","kicker":""},"owner":"Miami","allow_comments":true,"image":"https://www.bradenton.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/iunj6t/picture128717469/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/Zika%20Florida%20(1)"},{"id":"121130753","url":"https://www.bradenton.com/news/business/port-manatee/article121130753.html","asset_type":"story","state":"published","title":"Port Manatee bulk, shipping companies join forces to expand operations","publication":"bradenton","layout_option":"none","home":"/web/v1/sections/36699","home_section":{"name":"Port Manatee","url":"https://www.bradenton.com/news/business/port-manatee/"},"modified_date":1481835960,"published_date":1481835960,"thumbnail":"https://www.bradenton.com/news/business/port-manatee/u3829c/picture121130748/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/Port%20Manatee%20for%2012.16","keywords":"port manatee, manatee county, bradenton, shipping, cargo, bulk, stevedoring services in manatee county, bulk shipping in manatee county","access_tags":["matbasic"],"additional_sections":["36699","36693"],"credit":"","dateline":"Manatee","summary":"Logistec USA Inc. and Gulf Coast Bulk Equipment Inc. joined forces after a business agreement was approved by the Manatee County Port Authority on Thursday.","content":"
Two stevedoring companies at Port Manatee were approved by the Manatee County Port Authority on Thursday to create a new joint venture.
Stevedoring refers to the loading and unloading of cargo from ships at Port Manatee. Gulf Coast Bulk Equipment Inc. and Logistec USA Inc., a subsidiary of Logistec Corp., reached an agreement to create Logistec Gulf Coast LLC. Both companies provide stevedoring services and Gulf Coast Bulk Equipment specializes in bulk shipping.
Because Gulf Coast Bulk Equipment entered agreements with the Port Authority for construction of and leases for a cargo pad and a dry bulk terminal, the company had to obtain the Port Authority’s authorization before assigning the prior agreements to another party.
“This partnership is reflective of our shared commitment to growing our business and our belief that the port infrastructure, transportation connectivity and available capacity at Port Manatee as well as at Port Redwing at Port Tampa Bay are well-suited to our customers’ needs,” Madeleine Paquin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Logistec, said in a release.
The consolidation will allow both companies to expand bulk cargo handling services with enhanced financial capacity, according to Alain Pilotte, Logistec’s vice president of strategic initiatives. Specifics on the financials of both companies were not immediately available, but Logistec’s 2015 annual report shows $29 million in profits for Logistec Corporation, which is headquartered in Montreal.
Port Manatee executive director Carlos Buqueras said the agreement “reaffirms the confidence our partners have in us.”
“They wouldn’t be expanding if they didn’t feel the port and the authority can accommodate those businesses,” Buqueras said. “It’s a great thing for the port and the residents of Manatee County.”
Logistec has been doing business at Port Manatee since 2003, and Gulf Coast Bulk Equipment has been established there for more than eight years. The companies and the Port Authority hope that the new LLC will bring opportunities for job creation.
“That magic word, jobs, which is what we’re all about,” said at-large Manatee County Commissioner and outgoing Port Authority Chairwoman Betsy Benac.
The Port Authority’s new chairwoman will be District Five Commissioner Vanessa Baugh, who will serve as chairwoman for one year and has been on the Port Authority board since 2012.
Priscilla Whisenant Trace, an Ellenton agriculturist elected to the Manatee County Commission in November, will be the Port Authority’s new first vice chairwoman. District Two Commissioner Charles Smith will be the second vice chairman and another new face to the Manatee County Commission, Bradenton real estate consultant Steve Jonsson, will be the third.
Janelle O’Dea: 941-745-7095, @jayohday
","template_type":"","story_teaser":"","lead_media":{"id":"121130748","url":"https://www.bradenton.com/news/business/port-manatee/u3829c/picture121130748","asset_type":"picture","state":"published","title":"Port Manatee for 12.16","publication":"bradenton","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/36699","modified_date":1481835960,"allow_comments":false,"published_date":1481835960,"thumbnail":"https://www.bradenton.com/news/business/port-manatee/u3829c/picture121130748/alternates/FREE_1140/Port%20Manatee%20for%2012.16","href":"/web/v1/content/121130748","access_tags":["matbasic"],"additional_sections":["36699"],"credit":"Provided photo","dateline":"","caption":"Logistec has been doing business at Port Manatee since 2003, and Gulf Coast Bulk Equipment has been established there for more than eight years.","is_mugshot":false,"text_alignment":"Default","summary":"","byline":"","kicker":""},"owner":"Bradenton","allow_comments":true,"image":"https://www.bradenton.com/news/business/port-manatee/u3829c/picture121130748/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/Port%20Manatee%20for%2012.16"},{"id":"102033392","url":"https://www.bradenton.com/news/business/article102033392.html","asset_type":"story","state":"published","title":"Port Manatee enters agreement with St. Petersburg, Tampa ports","publication":"bradenton","layout_option":"none","home":"/web/v1/sections/36693","home_section":{"name":"Business","url":"https://www.bradenton.com/news/business/"},"modified_date":1473967576,"published_date":1473967566,"thumbnail":"https://www.bradenton.com/news/business/dxhgpy/picture102033382/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/IMG_1493","keywords":"Manatee County Port Authority, St. Petersburg, Tampa, Fresh Quest, Port Tampa Bay, Hurricane Hermine","access_tags":["matbasic"],"additional_sections":["36693","36699"],"credit":"","dateline":"Manatee","summary":"On Thursday, the Manatee County Port Authority authorized the port to enter an interlocal agreement with the ports of St. Petersburg and Tampa. The authority also authorized the port to file a claim against Fresh Quest, which was a tenant but stopped paying rent after it was bought by another company.","content":"
In the case of another Hurricane Hermine, the ports of Manatee, Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg are now officially authorized to work together.
Director of Seaport Security for Port Manatee David St. Pierre said the ports always worked together in a “gentlemen’s agreement,” but the mutual aid interlocal agreement approved by the Manatee County Port Authority in a 5-1 vote Thursday makes it official. Manatee County District 2 Commissioner Charles Smith was absent; he attended a Florida Association of Counties meeting.
Vanessa Baugh, District 5 commissioner, was the dissenting vote. Port Tampa Bay has not historically included Port Manatee on its maps, port authority chair and at-large commissioner Betsy Benac said.
“That’s why I find it interesting they’re recognizing our existence,” Baugh said.
The agreement allows the three ports to share “supplemental equipment, supplies, docks, mooring areas, facilities or other support” in the event of an emergency or during training for an emergency, according to the port authority’s meeting agenda.
“We respond together for heavy weather purposes and Hermine was one example,” St. Pierre said. “This provides a mechanism to document that that exists.”
The agreement spans 25 years and includes provisions about time and cost of assets and personnel used.
The port authority also passed the port’s request 6-0 to file a claim against Fresh Quest Inc., a previous warehouse tenant at Port Manatee. After Fresh Quest was purchased by another company and Fresh Quest dissolved, the Manatee County Port Authority was included on its schedule of creditors. The port has until Nov. 3 to file a claim for a total of $152,983.
If the claim is unsuccessful, Port Manatee Executive Director Carlos Buqueras said the port wouldn’t be affected.
“We’re putting our name in line to see if we can collect that six months rent purely as a fiduciary responsibility,” Buqueras said. “At least we make that effort. It’s not a lot of money.”
Buqueras said such defaults on leases don’t happen often at Port Manatee.
“It’s more likely they go out of business as opposed to being purchased by another company,” he said.
Fresh Quest’s revenue was included in the port’s 2016 fiscal year budget, but “we have exceeded their revenue by other sources,” said Virginia Zimmermann, the port’s senior manager of communications.
The port is “heavily in the black” with regard to its budget, Buqueras said.
Janelle O’Dea: 941-745-7095, @jayohday
","template_type":"","story_teaser":"","lead_media":{"id":"102033382","url":"https://www.bradenton.com/news/business/dxhgpy/picture102033382","asset_type":"picture","state":"published","title":"IMG_1493","publication":"bradenton","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/36693","modified_date":1473967575,"allow_comments":false,"published_date":1473967566,"thumbnail":"https://www.bradenton.com/news/business/dxhgpy/picture102033382/alternates/FREE_1140/IMG_1493","href":"/web/v1/content/102033382","access_tags":["matbasic"],"additional_sections":["36693"],"credit":"jodea@bradenton.com","dateline":"","caption":"GHD, an engineering and construction firm, is the independent contractor responsible for creating a pathway to the pile of sulphur seen in this photograph. The bright yellow material is shipped in by Mosaic for use in making fertilizer.","photographer":"Janelle O’Dea","is_mugshot":false,"text_alignment":"Default","summary":"","byline":"","kicker":""},"owner":"Bradenton","allow_comments":true,"image":"https://www.bradenton.com/news/business/dxhgpy/picture102033382/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/IMG_1493"},{"id":"74285797","url":"https://www.bradenton.com/news/business/port-manatee/article74285797.html","asset_type":"story","state":"published","title":"Port Manatee roundtable shows trade, sales potential ","publication":"bradenton","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/36699","home_section":{"name":"Port Manatee","url":"https://www.bradenton.com/news/business/port-manatee/"},"modified_date":1461797902,"published_date":1461794917,"thumbnail":"https://www.bradenton.com/latest-news/dzu66c/picture74285792/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/0428_BRBU_Trade1.jpg","access_tags":["matbasic"],"additional_sections":["36699","36693","7069","36726"],"credit":"","dateline":"","summary":"An international trade roundtable at Port Manatee Wednesday put Florida business owners in the same room with trade representatives and consultants from Europe and Latin America.","content":"
PORT MANATEE -- When Kevin McLaughlin attends international trade events, he always hopes for the chance to sell a boat.
On Wednesday, he might have earned the chance to sell more than just one.
McLaughlin, vice president of Manatee County boat-builder Hann Powerboats, was one of about 35 people gathered for an international trade roundtable at Port Manatee. The event put Florida business owners in the same room with trade representatives and consultants from Europe and Latin America -- part of the port's ongoing drive to attract import and export business, as well as foreign companies in need of a Florida base of operations.
Two of McLaughlin's conversations produced sales leads for Hann. The company builds pleasure boats as well as military-style patrol craft. One of those leads came from a trade official he met last year at a Spanish trade mission event hosted by the port.
\"Reconnecting with him has opened up an opportunity in Europe we're both going to explore,\" McLaughlin said.
The backdrop for the four-hour event was the port's growing International Trade Hub. Consisting of a set of offices at the port's Intermodal Building, the hub has attracted 15 overseas manufacturers, high-tech companies and service businesses that use it as either a physical or virtual U.S. base. Several of those companies have employees on site.
Established a little over a year ago, the hub last week launched a website, internationalhubportmanatee.com. The trade roundtable is an outgrowth of a set of trade missions between Manatee and Sarasota counties and the Catalonia region of Spain. It is expected to become a biannual event.
Carlos Buqueras, the port's executive director, said one of the port's goals is to boost trade for companies already in Manatee and Sarasota counties. He believes the port and surrounding area is an attractive place for European and Latin American companies to do business with Florida and the rest of the hemisphere.
The port, he said, will be at the center of that future business.
\"Ninety-eight percent of everything you buy that is imported into this country comes in by water,\" Buqueras said.
The international connections are paying off. Last year, Enzo Anzellini, a Sarasota commercial real estate agent with Keller Williams, sold 24.5 acres next to Port Manatee to Venezuelan metal building components fabricator Preacero Pellizzari. At Wednesday's event, he said the company plans to build a U.S. facility on the land in the near future.
Tony Cooper, another Keller Williams real estate agent attending the roundtable, said more sales will be coming because of the port.
\"Import and export is always looking for an office or ground,\" he said.
New trading partners
Port Manatee already has a solid foothold in Latin America through the business it does in the fresh fruit and juice markets, in containerized cargo and bulk cargos including lumber, aluminum and salt. For the past few years, it has been seeking out new trading partners and new imports and exports. Ivan Mutis, an international business consultant who is helping the port attract importers, used Wednesday's event to single out top trade regions in France, Italy, Spain and Germany. He said that with the dollar increasing in value against the euro, now is an opportune time to do business in Europe.
\"For the U.S., Europe is on sale,\" Mutis said.
The port is also looking to politically complicated markets. Port officials are expecting Cuba to become a trading partner within a few years. More accessible in the near term may be Colombia. Long engaged in a multifaceted civil war, the South American nation expects to sign a peace deal with one faction, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, this year.
Jose Rafael Daste, an official with Colombian nonprofit trade group Invest Pacific, traveled to the roundtable to speak for his nation's trade interests. He said the promise of greater peace is opening trade possibilities across a number of industries, including in fruit production.
Strong market ties to the U.S. will speed the development of that industry.
\"We lack technical development, we need machinery, we need this sector to be even more professional,\" Daste said.
Events like Wednesday's roundtable are what Florida's trade is built upon. Jorge Riano, an official with the state's trade organization, Enterprise Florida, said the $156 million in trade Florida did in 2015 had much to do with building relationships. Trade missions undertaken by his organization and Port Manatee are often the start of those relationships.
\"In reality, what it is is serious business-to-business matchmaking,\" he said.
Future trade roundtables at the port are likely to range from events that include multiple international markets and those that focus on single nations, according to Buqueras.
Matt M. Johnson, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7027 or on Twitter
","kicker":"","text_alignment":"Left","href":"/web/v1/content/74285797","allow_ads":true,"allow_stn_player":true,"byline":" ","template_type":"","story_teaser":"","lead_media":{"id":"74285792","url":"https://www.bradenton.com/latest-news/dzu66c/picture74285792","asset_type":"picture","state":"published","title":"0428_BRBU_Trade1.jpg","publication":"bradenton","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/7071","modified_date":1461794946,"allow_comments":false,"published_date":1461794943,"thumbnail":"https://www.bradenton.com/latest-news/dzu66c/picture74285792/alternates/FREE_1140/0428_BRBU_Trade1.jpg","href":"/web/v1/content/74285792","access_tags":["matbasic"],"additional_sections":["7071"],"credit":"","dateline":"","caption":"Carlos Buqueras, executive director of Port Manatee, talks with Hann Powerboats Vice President Kevin McLaughlin and YP.com representative Jose Marin at an international trade roundtable held at the port Wednesday. MATT M. JOHNSON/Bradenton Herald","is_mugshot":false,"text_alignment":"Default","summary":"","byline":"","kicker":""},"owner":"Bradenton_Herald","copyright":" McClatchy Southeast","allow_comments":true,"image":"https://www.bradenton.com/latest-news/dzu66c/picture74285792/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/0428_BRBU_Trade1.jpg"},{"id":"73086532","url":"https://www.bradenton.com/news/business/port-manatee/article73086532.html","asset_type":"story","state":"published","title":"Port Manatee attracts 15 companies to International Trade HUB ","publication":"bradenton","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/36699","home_section":{"name":"Port Manatee","url":"https://www.bradenton.com/news/business/port-manatee/"},"modified_date":1461797881,"published_date":1461266341,"thumbnail":"https://www.bradenton.com/latest-news/sq7amg/picture73121347/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/0422_brloc_port1.jpg","access_tags":["matbasic"],"additional_sections":["36699","36693","7069","36726"],"credit":"","dateline":"","sub_headline":"Foreign companies hosted in Port Manatee's International Trade HUB","summary":"The International Trade HUB tells Port Manatee Authority of its successful growth in two years.","content":"MANATEE -- The International Trade HUB at Port Manatee already hosts 15 companies, with more expected to join soon, an international business consultant told the Port Authority Thursday.
While the HUB began in 2014 with companies from Spain, they are now working with companies in other countries such as Colombia, Chile and the Dominican Republic.
\"We are trying to catch everyone who wants to use this place as an intermarket to the U.S.,\" said Ivan Mutis, CEO with the port-based consultant GM&L.
The HUB assists international companies in \"advancing production, distribution and other business activities, including innovative global supply chain solutions,\" according to a company statement. Some of the companies in the HUB have set up logistics warehouses or facilities for manufacturing, while others have a virtual presence.
The HUB will host a program focusing on Southwestern Europe and Colombia next week. Titled \"Your GATEWAY to International Markets,\" the program begins at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday in the Intermodal Building at Port Manatee, 1905 Intermodal Circle, Palmetto, and is open to the public.
\"What a great opportunity this is for Manatee County and Port Manatee,\" said Karen Stewart, the county's economic development manager. \"Having this kind of relationship with foreign companies is just really beneficial. ...Having these companies come back and forth to our community and really build that relationship, that is so important for establishing in a place and then having the International Trade HUB here, a place where businesses can land quickly.\"
Port Manatee is not in companies' \"natural path of development\" when they land in Miami International Airport, said Carlos Buqueras, Port Manatee executive director.
\"Until SRQ gets a few international flights, we have to go get them literally out of the plane in Miami and bring them here,\" he said. \"I think once they are here it's really very, very encouraging they love it. ...North America starts about here.\"
Companies located in the HUB have a Palmetto address on business cards and stationary, Buqueras said.
\"They are linked with Manatee County,\" he said.
Port Authority Chairwoman Betsy Benac thanked Mutis for \"acting as the buffer and being that welcoming presence for them.\"
\"I do think it is important to have that opportunity for relationship-building,\" she said.
Also on Thursday, the Port Authority:
Approved a change order for a berth reconstruction at Port Manatee, which equates to sales tax cost savings of $87,692.45. Last December, the Port Authority awarded a $9.1 million contract for berth reconstruction to Orion Marine Construction Inc.
Awarded a $807,769.50 contract to Pepper Contracting Services Inc. for Port Manatee's South Access Modification Project, which will make improvements to the South Gate entrance.
Claire Aronson, Manatee County reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7024. Follow her on Twitter@Claire_Aronson.
","kicker":"","text_alignment":"Left","href":"/web/v1/content/73086532","allow_ads":true,"allow_stn_player":true,"byline":" ","template_type":"","story_teaser":"","lead_media":{"id":"73121347","url":"https://www.bradenton.com/latest-news/sq7amg/picture73121347","asset_type":"picture","state":"published","title":"0422_brloc_port1.jpg","publication":"bradenton","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/7071","modified_date":1461266342,"allow_comments":false,"published_date":1461266341,"thumbnail":"https://www.bradenton.com/latest-news/sq7amg/picture73121347/alternates/FREE_1140/0422_brloc_port1.jpg","href":"/web/v1/content/73121347","access_tags":["matbasic"],"additional_sections":["7071"],"credit":"","dateline":"","caption":"Port Manatee Intermodal Center \n PHOTO PROVIDED","is_mugshot":false,"text_alignment":"Default","summary":"","byline":"","kicker":""},"owner":"Bradenton_Herald","copyright":" McClatchy Southeast","allow_comments":true,"image":"https://www.bradenton.com/latest-news/sq7amg/picture73121347/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/0422_brloc_port1.jpg"},{"id":"66368742","url":"https://www.bradenton.com/news/business/port-manatee/article66368742.html","asset_type":"story","state":"published","title":"Port Manatee to pay $84,000 of crane expenses ","publication":"bradenton","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/36699","home_section":{"name":"Port Manatee","url":"https://www.bradenton.com/news/business/port-manatee/"},"modified_date":1458180844,"published_date":1458180843,"thumbnail":"https://www.bradenton.com/latest-news/y3j18u/picture40760448/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/1022_BRBU_SideBiz.jpg","access_tags":["matbasic"],"additional_sections":["36699","36693","7069"],"credit":"","dateline":"","summary":"The Manatee County Port Authority is considering a negotiated agreement with stevedoring company Logistec under which the port would take on an $84,000 annual expense to operate one of the port's two mobile heavy lift cranes.","content":"PORT MANATEE -- Port Manatee is going to have to pay a little more to play with one of its favorite toys.
On Thursday, the Manatee County Port Authority will consider a negotiated agreement with stevedoring company Logistec under which the port would take on an $84,000 annual expense to operate one of the port's two mobile heavy lift cranes.
The agreement comes after Montreal-based Logistec informed the port in January that it planned to exercise a hardship exception clause that would release it from an operating agreement for the crane. Since then, the port has agreed -- pending port authority approval -- to take on a share of the operating expenses plus any repairs that cost more than $75,000.
Port Manatee and Logistec have operated as partners in acquiring, operating and maintaining the cranes since 2008. That year, Logistec financed the $3.96 million purchase price of the first of two Gottwald HMK 6407 cranes. It purchased a second for the port in 2010 for $3.93 million.
Florida Department of Transportation grant funding initially reimbursed Logistec half the purchase price of the cranes. Since then, the port has used grant money to reimburse the remaining amount, said Andre Dubois, Logistec's director of opera
tions at Port Manatee.
Standing 257 feet tall and capable of lifting 100 tons each, the cranes added cargo and container handling capability to the port's services. According to port information, the cranes have the heaviest tandem lift capability at any Florida port, 165 tons.
A significant portion of that lifting capability was lost on Logistec. The company was getting less than 600 hours of work per year out of Mobile Harbor Container Crane No. 2. Under the terms of the agreement, the company could terminate its operating agreement for the crane at that threshold.
Dubois said there is not enough cargo handling work coming into the port's berth's to justify paying the full cost of running the crane.
\"That's what prompted us after five years of operating both units to look in depth as to what the cost was for operating those two units,\" he said.
Currently, all expenses for both cranes, including crane operator, maintenance, repair, fuel and insurance are paid by Logistec. The company is the cranes' sole operator.
In agreeing to pay $7,000 per month toward the operations of the crane plus handle the big repair bills, the port will continue to receive more than $19,000 per month in crane lease payments from Logistec. Had the company simply exited the operating agreement, the port risked owning a crane that was no longer being maintained.
The port will pay its share of operating expenses out of its cash reserves. Port staff have recommended that the port authority approve the amended operating agreement.
Dubois said he believes the crane will see more use in the near future as Port Manatee attracts more cargo carriers.
Matt M. Johnson, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7027 or on Twitter @MattAtBradenton.
","kicker":"","text_alignment":"Left","href":"/web/v1/content/66368742","allow_ads":true,"allow_stn_player":true,"byline":" ","template_type":"","story_teaser":"","lead_media":{"id":"40760448","url":"https://www.bradenton.com/latest-news/y3j18u/picture40760448","asset_type":"picture","state":"published","title":"1022_BRBU_SideBiz.jpg","publication":"bradenton","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/7071","modified_date":1445460849,"allow_comments":false,"published_date":1445460848,"thumbnail":"https://www.bradenton.com/latest-news/y3j18u/picture40760448/alternates/FREE_1140/1022_BRBU_SideBiz.jpg","href":"/web/v1/content/40760448","access_tags":["matbasic"],"additional_sections":["7071"],"credit":"","dateline":"","caption":"Cranes at Port Manatee load Fresh Del Monte containers on a ship. The port saw an 83-percent increase in container volume in its most recent fiscal year compared to the 12 months previous. PROVIDED PHOTO","is_mugshot":false,"text_alignment":"Default","summary":"","byline":"","kicker":""},"owner":"Bradenton_Herald","copyright":" McClatchy Southeast","allow_comments":true,"image":"https://www.bradenton.com/latest-news/y3j18u/picture40760448/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/1022_BRBU_SideBiz.jpg"},{"id":"66092662","url":"https://www.bradenton.com/news/business/port-manatee/article66092662.html","asset_type":"story","state":"published","title":"Port Manatee welcomes $10M state funding increase ","publication":"bradenton","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/36699","home_section":{"name":"Port Manatee","url":"https://www.bradenton.com/news/business/port-manatee/"},"modified_date":1458012425,"published_date":1458012400,"thumbnail":"https://www.bradenton.com/latest-news/j6k5oo/picture66092657/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/0315_BRBU_FSTED.jpg","access_tags":["matbasic"],"additional_sections":["36699","36693"],"credit":"","dateline":"","summary":"More money to build warehouses, docks and other infrastructure at Florida ports will be available in the coming year through a funding increase approved by the state Legislature last week.","content":"PORT MANATEE -- More money to build warehouses, docks and other infrastructure at Florida ports would be available in the coming year through a funding increase approved by the state Legislature.
On Friday, the Legislature approved a measure that will increase the annual minimum statutory amount of Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic Development, or FSTED, funding from $15 million to $25 million each fiscal year. The money is set aside specifically for projects at Florida's 15 publicly owned ports.
Legislators delivered the measure on a 39-1 vote in the Senate and a 117-2 vote in the House. Individual ports and the Florida Ports Council had been lobbying for several years to have the funding amount increased.
The funding request now awaits Gov. Rick Scott's signature.
Carlos Buqueras, executive director of Port Manatee, said FSTED money is an important tool in improving his port's facilities. The port has two current projects on the books that have been allocated $4.8 million in FSTED funds since 2011. That money is matched at a ratio of at least 50-50 by the port. FSTED funds applied to ship berth construction projects must be matched at a 75 percent level locally.
Buqueras said the port and its lobbyists have been pushing for the increase for three years. As a project funding vehicle, he said, FSTED funds encourage private funding for infrastructure projects, such as a new $24.6 million cold storage warehouse being planned at Port Manatee. Stevedoring company Logistech has pledged half of that amount. At present, $1.43 million in FSTED money has come to the port for the project.
Buqueras said the program rewards ports that pay their fair share for new construction projects. Raising a local share for infrastructure construction is something Port Manatee does well, he said.
\"There's nothing out there we haven't applied for we haven't gotten or will in the future we won't get,\" Buqueras said of matching fund programs including FSTED.
The port has received FSTED money in four of the past five fiscal years. It is expecting the receipt of $2 million during the current fiscal year.
Port Tampa, Port Manatee's neighbor, has the same amount earmarked for 2015-2016, according to Florida Department of Transportation figures.
FSTED money is a factor at Port Tampa's Hooker's Point container terminal development and its East Port berth construction and cargo area, according to port spokesman Andy Fobes.
Allocations from the state come as the fund has money for them.
For projects that are approved for funding, the port signs an agreement with the state for the money. For larger projects, Buqueras said private partners such as Logistech can front more of the project cost, then get paid back as state money is disbursed.
The port has also received FSTED money for its berth rehabilitation and reconstruction program.
The vote to increase funding for the 26-year-old program was also welcomed by the ports council. The organization's CEO, Doug Wheeler, said the extra money will go toward \"critical freight infrastructure.\" The council credits the funding with speeding the construction of port facilities to remain competitive with ports outside Florida.
Local senators and House members who voted for the FSTED increase include Sen. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Sarasota, and Rep. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota.
Matt M. Johnson, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7027 or on Twitter @MattAtBradenton.
","kicker":"","text_alignment":"Left","href":"/web/v1/content/66092662","allow_ads":true,"allow_stn_player":true,"byline":" ","template_type":"","story_teaser":"","lead_media":{"id":"66092657","url":"https://www.bradenton.com/latest-news/j6k5oo/picture66092657","asset_type":"picture","state":"published","title":"0315_BRBU_FSTED.jpg","publication":"bradenton","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/7071","modified_date":1461260873,"allow_comments":false,"published_date":1458012423,"thumbnail":"https://www.bradenton.com/latest-news/j6k5oo/picture66092657/alternates/FREE_1140/0315_BRBU_FSTED.jpg","href":"/web/v1/content/66092657","access_tags":["matbasic"],"additional_sections":["7071"],"credit":"","dateline":"","caption":"Port Manatee's berths and warehouses. File photo. MATT M. JOHNSON/Bradenton Herald","is_mugshot":false,"text_alignment":"Default","summary":"","byline":"","kicker":""},"owner":"Bradenton_Herald","copyright":" McClatchy Southeast","allow_comments":true,"image":"https://www.bradenton.com/latest-news/j6k5oo/picture66092657/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/0315_BRBU_FSTED.jpg"},{"id":"59619681","url":"https://www.bradenton.com/news/business/port-manatee/article59619681.html","asset_type":"story","state":"published","title":"$1 million Port Manatee road benefits Air Products, Vecenergy, truck traffic ","publication":"bradenton","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/36699","home_section":{"name":"Port Manatee","url":"https://www.bradenton.com/news/business/port-manatee/"},"modified_date":1455166201,"published_date":1455166200,"thumbnail":"https://www.bradenton.com/latest-news/og50yz/picture59619676/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/0729_brbu_port_4.jpg","access_tags":["matbasic"],"additional_sections":["36699","36693","7069","36726"],"credit":"","dateline":"","summary":"Starting this coming spring, Port Manatee will put $1 million toward widening its southernmost entry point to accommodate heavy truck traffic and some of the largest machines built in Florida.","content":"PORT MANATEE -- The port is building a gate for giants.
Starting this spring, Port Manatee will put $1 million toward widening its southernmost entry point to accommodate heavy truck traffic and some of the largest machines built in Florida.
This week, the Manatee County Board of Commissioners approved disbursing $200,000 collected by a port tax increment financing district, or TIF, for use as matching funds for the work. The port received $750,000 toward the work in 2014 as part of a $1.8 million grant package. To use the money for expanding access at its South Dock Street entry point, the port had to come up with $250,000 of its own. The TIF money, plus a $50,000 gift from natural gas heat exchanger manufacturer Air Products, fulfills the requirement.
Carlos Buqueras, the port's executive director, said the scope of work includes adding lanes to the current, narrow entry road at South Dock Street, expanding the small guard shack that controls access and building a long-promised bypass road for fuel terminal operator Vecenergy.
\"We will make the access control center larger and more modern to be able to be responsive for the increase in traffic,\" Buqueras said.
Construction is expected to begin in April and finish in September.
Air Products, which opened a manufacturing plant across the road from the port in early 2014, will benefit from the greater access capacity. The company builds heat exchangers for the natural gas indus
try that can reach the length of a football field. At the moment, the company has five smaller heat exchangers under construction at its Port Manatee plant that will eventually be shipped through the port. Mark Evans, the plant's manager, said these would make it through the gate as is. But future projects will need more room.
\"These exchangers are going to get bigger and bigger,\" he said.
The exchangers cool natural gas to a point at which it becomes liquified, a process that is vital for shipping the resource.
Evans said Air Products chipped in some of its own cash for the South Dock Street project because it wanted the port to be able match the federal funds and make the improvements.
The part of the project that could help along the biggest piece of new business is the access road. It will allow Fort Lauderdale-based Vecenergy unfettered access to 238 acres it owns just south of the port without having to pass through the port's South Dock Street security checkpoint.
Vecenergy plans to build a petroleum tank farm and fuel terminal on the land. Richard Vogel, the company's director of environmental and regulatory affairs, said he learned of the TIF funding package this week.
The port project will build 800 feet of bypass between South Dock Street and southbound Reeder Road for Vecenergy's use.
The TIF from which the county commission authorized funding, the Port Manatee Improvement District, was created in 2009. The district includes thousands of acres largely bounded by the Hillsborough County line, Interstate 75 and Buckeye Road. It has collected about $216,000 over the past seven years.
Buqueras said the South Dock Street project funding marks the first time the port has withdrawn money from the TIF.
Matt M. Johnson, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7027 or on Twitter @MattAtBradenton.
","kicker":"","text_alignment":"Left","href":"/web/v1/content/59619681","allow_ads":true,"allow_stn_player":true,"byline":" ","template_type":"","story_teaser":"","lead_media":{"id":"59619676","url":"https://www.bradenton.com/latest-news/og50yz/picture59619676","asset_type":"picture","state":"published","title":"0729_brbu_port_4.jpg","publication":"bradenton","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/7071","modified_date":1455142144,"allow_comments":false,"published_date":1455142142,"thumbnail":"https://www.bradenton.com/latest-news/og50yz/picture59619676/alternates/FREE_1140/0729_brbu_port_4.jpg","href":"/web/v1/content/59619676","access_tags":["matbasic"],"additional_sections":["7071"],"credit":"gjefferies@bradenton.com","dateline":"","caption":"A narrow roadway and guard shack at South Dock Street will be expanded this coming spring and summer at Port Manatee to accommodate more and heavier traffic. GRANT JEFFERIES/Herald file photo","is_mugshot":false,"text_alignment":"Default","summary":"","byline":"","kicker":""},"owner":"Bradenton_Herald","copyright":" McClatchy Southeast","allow_comments":true,"image":"https://www.bradenton.com/latest-news/og50yz/picture59619676/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/0729_brbu_port_4.jpg"},{"id":"55878565","url":"https://www.bradenton.com/news/business/port-manatee/article55878565.html","asset_type":"story","state":"published","title":"U.S. 41 work near Port Manatee ahead of schedule ","publication":"bradenton","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/36699","home_section":{"name":"Port Manatee","url":"https://www.bradenton.com/news/business/port-manatee/"},"modified_date":1453416601,"published_date":1453416600,"thumbnail":"https://www.bradenton.com/latest-news/juyevt/picture55878560/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/0122_BRBU_RoadWork.jpg","access_tags":["matbasic"],"additional_sections":["36699","36693"],"credit":"","dateline":"","summary":"A roadway reconstruction project on a 5-mile section of U.S. Highway 41 in north Manatee County is weeks ahead of schedule and is expected to finish four months early.","content":"PORT MANATEE -- A roadway reconstruction project on a 5-mile section of U.S. Highway 41 in north Manatee County is weeks ahead of schedule and is expected to finish four months early.
The $30 million project is rebuilding the highway between Interstate 275 and the Hillsborough County line. To accommodate a heavier volume of trucks entering and leaving Port Manatee and nearby manufacturers, the Florida Department of Transportation will also rebuild two-thirds of a mile of the asphalt road with concrete. The area also will get extra lighting.
Updating members of the Manatee County Port Authority Thursday, Ray Callahan, a project manager with FDOT, said the work is 25 percent complete three months in. Northbound drivers in the construction zone are subject to lane closures as Tampa general contractor Pepper Contracting Services removes and rebuilds the pavement. Those closures will shift to the southbound lanes in February when reconstruction work starts in earnest on that side.
An official with Pepper who attended the meeting said he expects that his crews will be off the job by July 3. The project was initially expected to last into October.
The exit onto U.S. 41 coming off westbound I-275 is also under construction. The exit is being widened to include two left-hand turn lanes and a signal light. The current intersection has only one left turn lane governed by a stop sign.
Callahan said he expects the widening to speed traffic coming off the interstate on its way to Palmetto and the port by cutting down on backups.
\"That will really help the flow,\" he said.
The improvements come as fuel supply company Transmontaigne has ramped its fuel truck traffic to about 1,000 trucks per month between its Port Manatee fuel depot and RaceTrac filling stations throughout Southwest Florida.
The strengthened roadway is expected to better handle the weight from heavy loads moved between the port and natural gas liquefier manufacturer Air Products across the street. Those liquefiers can weigh more than 600 tons.
Traffic to and from the port is increasing. In 2014, 2,000 vehicles a day entered and exited Piney Point Road, the port's northern access point, according to FDOT traffic counts.
Port authority member Carol Whitmore said she is pleased to see the work getting done. She said having a smoother, stronger road with better connectivity to I-275 is \"extremely important\" to the future development of commercial land around the port.
The port markets itself as being in the middle of an encouragement zone that offers over 5,000 developable acres, more than any other port in Florida.
Matt M. Johnson, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7027 or on Twitter@MattAtBradenton.
","kicker":"","text_alignment":"Left","href":"/web/v1/content/55878565","allow_ads":true,"allow_stn_player":true,"byline":" ","template_type":"","story_teaser":"","lead_media":{"id":"55878560","url":"https://www.bradenton.com/latest-news/juyevt/picture55878560","asset_type":"picture","state":"published","title":"0122_BRBU_RoadWork.jpg","publication":"bradenton","layout_option":"","home":"/web/v1/sections/7071","modified_date":1453410420,"allow_comments":false,"published_date":1453410419,"thumbnail":"https://www.bradenton.com/latest-news/juyevt/picture55878560/alternates/FREE_1140/0122_BRBU_RoadWork.jpg","href":"/web/v1/content/55878560","access_tags":["matbasic"],"additional_sections":["7071"],"credit":"","dateline":"","caption":"A road construction crew works near where a Florida Department of Transportation project installed heavy-duty concrete paving at the entrance of Port Manatee over the last few weeks. The work is part of a road reconstruction project on 5 miles of U.S. Highway 41 between Interstate 275 and the Hillsborough County line. MATT M. JOHNSON/Bradenton Herald","is_mugshot":false,"text_alignment":"Default","summary":"","byline":"","kicker":""},"owner":"Bradenton_Herald","copyright":" McClatchy Southeast","allow_comments":true,"image":"https://www.bradenton.com/latest-news/juyevt/picture55878560/alternates/LANDSCAPE_768/0122_BRBU_RoadWork.jpg"}],"showSummary":false,"initialQuantity":0,"isLoading":true,"isVisible":false,"areMoreResults":false,"page":0,"offset":0},"sectionConfig":{"lang":"en","pubTimeZone":"America/New_York"}}