King Ocean renews lease at Port Everglades

Caribbean and Central American ocean carrier and terminal operator King Ocean has signed a 20-year lease extension at the South Florida port that calls for a minimum 72,000 container lifts per year over an initial 10-year term.    King Ocean Services Ltd. has renewed a 20-year lease agreement with Port Everglades, located in Broward County, Fla.
   The agreement calls for a minimum 72,000 container lifts per year over an initial 10-year term, with two five-year renewal options. In fiscal year 2015, ended Sept. 30, King Ocean moved 153,984 TEUs through Port Everglades.
   Lifts refers to the number of containers moved on or off vessels regardless of whether they are 20, 40 or 45-footers. 
   King Ocean is a carrier, as well as terminal operator, with 15 vessels serving Central America and the Caribbean. It operates twice-weekly services from Port Everglades
   In 2014, King Ocean consolidated its operations in Port Everglades by moving some services there from PortMiami.
   King Ocean has expanded its terminal from the original 23-acre site to 41 acres in two locations within the port.
   The Everglades port authority said the lease, based on the minimum cargo guarantee, will support an estimated 385 direct local jobs and 1,021 jobs statewide. It is estimated to generate about $56 million in revenue to the port authority during the initial 10 years.
   The agreement includes relocating King Ocean’s terminal within the port’s Southport cargo area during construction for the Southport Turning Notch Extension project. The project will lengthen the existing deepwater turn-around area from 900 to 2,400 feet, which will allow for up to five new cargo berths. Construction is expected to begin in early 2017 and be completed by the end of 2019.