Manatee County Port Authority approves crane purchase

Manatee County Port Authority approves crane purchase The Manatee County Port Authority Tuesday approved the $3.9 million purchase of a mobile container crane that will give the port its first landside container offloading capabilities.
   Port Manatee Executive Director David McDonald negotiated a 15-year agreement for a public-private partnership between the port and Logistec USA Inc., which will purchase the Gottwald mobile harbor container crane and deliver it to the port. Once the crane is certified as operational, the port will have 90 days to pay Logistec half of the purchase price. The money will come from state transportation grants. The port will lease the crane back to Logistec under terms that exceed the port authority's monthly installment. The agreement also includes a profit sharing plan under which the port could receive additional income based on the crane's monthly hours of operation.