King Ocean, which operates twice-weekly from Port Everglades with services to Venezuela, Aruba, Curacao, Colombia, Costa Rica and Panama, recently celebrated its 22nd year at Broward County’s Port Everglades.
“King Ocean has established successful business models at Port Everglades that take advantage of the port’s robust trade lanes to Latin American and the Caribbean and direct highway access,” said Port Everglades Chief Executive & Port Director Steven Cernak.
With operations at Port Everglades since 1994, King Ocean has expanded its marine terminal from the original 22.84-acre site to 41.1 total acres in two locations within the Port. In FY2015, King Ocean moved 153,984 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units, the standard industry measurement for containers) through Port Everglades.
Based upon King Ocean’s minimum guarantee of 72,000 container lifts annually, this agreement will support an estimated 385 direct local jobs and 1,021 total jobs statewide that will generate more than $69 million in personal income and $6 million in state and local taxes each year. The agreement is estimated to generate approximately $56 million in revenue to the Port during the initial 10 years.
This 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 feet 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.
“We are fortunate to have strong working relationship with our customers and appreciate their flexibility during this upcoming construction period,” Cernak said.
At the crossroads of north-south and east-west trade, Broward County’s Port Everglades is Florida’s leading container port, handling more than one million TEUs annually and serving as a gateway to Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia. Located within the cities of Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, and Dania Beach, Florida, Port Everglades is in the heart of one of the world’s largest consumer regions, including a constant flow of visitors and up to a combined 110 million year-round and seasonal residents within a 500-mile radius. Port Everglades has direct access to the interstate highway system and Florida East Coast Railway’s 43-acre Intermodal Container Transfer Facility, and is closer to the Atlantic Shipping Lanes than any other Southeastern U.S. port. Ongoing capital mprovements and expansion will ensure that Port Everglades can continue to handle future growth in container traffic.