Port Tampa Bay renews contract with Ports America

The Floridian port signed a long-term contract renewal with Ports America, the largest terminal operator and stevedore in the United States, to operate its container terminal through 2046.    Port Tampa Bay signed a long-term contract renewal with Ports America last month to operate its container terminal through 2046, as well as a five-year extension covering breakbulk operations.
   The concession is for 25 years plus a 15-year option, port spokesman Andy Fobes said. Other terms of the deal were not disclosed.
   Ports America, the largest terminal operator and stevedore in the United States, has handled general cargo and container operations at the Florida port for a decade.
   Under the concession agreement, Ports America is helping Port Tampa Bay invest in infrastructure. On July 22, the business partners commissioned two new post-Panamax cranes with a reach of 21 containers across. The cranes supplement the facilities three existing gantry cranes.
   Port Tampa Bay is the largest port in Florida in terms of its physical footprint, but is a minor player in the container trade despite persistent efforts to entice ocean lines to call there. It handled 56,742 TEUs in fiscal year 2015, which ended Sept. 30. In the first half of the fiscal year through March, container traffic fell 13 percent year-over-year to 23,236 TEUs.
   The port authority and Ports America have ambitious plans to quadruple the size of the existing terminal to 160 acres if enough container business materializes.
   Officials have expressed hope that the opening of the expanded Panama Canal in June will shift some trade patterns and open opportunities for trade with the West Coast of South America and to receive feeder vessels relaying goods from Asia.