SeaPort Manatee is a county-owned deepwater

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manc ...

located in the eastern

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

at the entrance to

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater i ...

in northern

Manatee County, Florida Manatee County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 399,710. Manatee County is part of the Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, North Por ...

. It is one of Florida's largest deepwater seaports and also regarded as the closest U.S. deepwater seaport to the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

. The port handles a variety of bulk, breakbulk, containerized, and heavy-lift project cargoes. SeaPort Manatee generates nearly $7.3 billion in annual economic impact while supporting more than 42,000 direct and indirect jobs, all without the benefit of ad-valorem taxes.

History

Manatee County bought in 1965 to launch a Barge Port and Industrial Port which later became known as Port Manatee. The Florida Legislature established the Manatee County Port Authority (MCPA) which is the governing body for the port, in the same year. The first ship to dock at the port was ''M/V Fermland'' on August 7, 1970, unloading 2,000 tons of "Korean plywood". A formal dedication ceremony for the port was held on October 29, 1970 at 2 pm. After the opening ceremony, an open house was held that day allowing members of the general public to visit the port. This open house was held for two more days after the opening ceremony occurred. In the 1970s the port was mainly involved with petroleum and phosphate. By the 1980s the port became more diversified. Berth 11 was built and Berth 12 played a role in rebuilding the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. During the winters of 1989 and 1990 a cruise ship named Southern Elegance sailed out of Port Manatee. Southern Elegance would sail out of Panama City during the summer. Southern Elegance pulled out citing competition from other cruise ships in Tampa Bay. Another cruise ship sailed out of Port Manatee the MS Regal Empress from Regal Cruises between 1993 and 2003 from Berth 9. The Regal Empress stopped sailing out of Port Manatee because it was seized by US Federal Marshalls on April 18, 2003 after a repair bill was not paid and the cruise line filed for bankruptcy. A 50th anniversary celebration was scheduled in 2020 but ended up being cancelled because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In February 2022, the port was rebranded as SeaPort Manatee.

Imports and exports

The port handles approximately 11 million tons of cargo each year.

Primary imports

*Tropical fruits and vegetables *Citrus juices and beverages *Appliances *Forestry products *Refined petroleum products *Finished phosphate fertilizers *Aluminum *Cement and cement clinker *Steel *Project cargo such as power plant and bridge components, heavy machinery, and over-sized vehicles

Primary exports

*Finished phosphate products *Wood pulp *Kraft paper and paper board *Scrap iron and steel *LNG Heat Exchangers

References

External links

* County government agencies in Florida Ports and harbors of the Florida Gulf coast Tampa Bay Geography of Manatee County, Florida 1970 establishments in Florida Transportation buildings and structures in Manatee County, Florida {{port-stub