Carver Maritime signs Port Manatee deal

New York-based company will operate a 10-acre aggregate terminal at the Tampa Bay port.    Port Manatee said it has entered into a long-term marine terminal operating agreement with Carver Maritime.
   Carver will operate a 10-acre facility for offloading aggregate at the Florida port, which is located on Tampa Bay.
    The agreement was approved Thursday by the Manatee County Port Authority and ensures property lease payments totaling $1.8 million for the initial five-year term, in addition to wharfage payments for annual cargo throughputs. The agreement could be extended for as long as 20 years.
   “The projected growth of Central Florida and the business-friendly environment of Manatee County make us eager to call it home.”said Carver Laraway, president of Altamont, N.Y.-based parent firm Carver Companies. In addition to its maritime operations, Carver is involved in aggregate supply and heavy construction.
   The Port Manatee facility will be the third maritime endeavor for Carver Companies, which was founded in 1989. The first, the Port of Coeymans, is a  400-acre privately owned and operated maritime industrial complex opened in 2007 on the Hudson River, 10 miles south of Albany, N.Y.
   The second was established in 2016 on a former naval base property in North Charleston, S.C., and now encompasses 40 acres of industrial laydown and warehousing.
   The Port Manatee site includes a 1,400-foot-long conveyor system, truck loading facilities and has deep-water access. It was formerly occupied by Vulcan Materials Co.