Dole extends terminal lease in San Diego

Dole in San Diego port

   The Port of San Diego has renewed a lease with Dole Fresh Fruit Co. for its Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal.
   The new lease is for 24.5 years.
   Dole, which operates its own vessel fleet, has used the port as its West Coast hub since 2002. It is the first stop in the United States for fresh fruit shipped from South America.
   San Diego receives about 95,000 TEUs of Dole fruit each year.
   Under terms of the lease agreement, the port and Dole will work together on infrastructure improvements to improve cargo operations and reduce environmental impact, the port authority said Aug. 14. The Port of San Diego will invest almost $7 million in shore power equipment at the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal, as required by new California air quality regulations, to reduce diesel emissions from vessels while at berth.
   The new lease also extends Dole’s operating area to an off-dock warehouse, which will eliminate truck staging and off-terminal operations in nearby residential areas.
   Dole Fresh Fruit Co. is a division of Dole Food Co., the largest importer of bananas and the second largest importer of pineapples to North America.
   Dole vessels also call at the ports of Freeport, Texas; Gulfport, Miss.; Port Everglades, Fla.; and Wilmington, Del. – Eric Kulisch