TALLAHASSEE, FL—It's time to "seas the opportunity" to keep Florida front and center on the international trade stage, according to maritime professionals at Seaports Day at the Capitol. With a four-year, $5 billion investment plan arriving to shore up public seaports, Florida has set their sights on increasing and maintaining cargo growth.
"As long as the population of Florida keeps expanding, and as long as people want to move here, they will need more of the essential goods and services," Carlos Buqueras, the Chair of the Florida Ports Council and SeaPort Manatee Executive director said at a Wednesday press conference, explaining how most essential products come in through seaports.
"More gas, more lumber, more aluminum, more steel, more everything; so it's given that the responsibility of the ports is to make sure that there's no shortage of those materials in Florida, and if we can't bring it in through the ports, then we have a big problem," He continued. "The key here is to really be able to participate and grow, and our growth mirrors population expansion,"
"You might not know where the ports are, but you sure will know if they're not there," He added.
Florida set back-to-back records of cargo growth in 2022 and again in 2023, resulting in high expectations for this coming year. In addition, Florida’s 16 public seaports anticipate $5 billion in investments through their Capital Improvement Plans running from 2024 through 2028.
The state is a global hub for mega yachts, with their cruise ports being the largest in the world. They're set to handle 60 percent of all U.S. cruises this year, and with 20 Foreign Trade Zones, cargo and cruise activities account for $117.6 billion in economic value, and 13.3 % of Florida's GDP.
"Not only are the cruise numbers back up after a long Covid period, they're record levels," Mike Rubin, the President and CEO of Florida Ports Council said.
A number of bills related to aiding, easing, and increasing waterway and seaport activity have been proposed this session, including SB 714 by Republican Sen. Tom Wright, and SB 92 by Republican Sen. Ed Hooper.
