Local Congressman supports Port rail infrastructure 

United States Representative Brian Mast wrote a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation in support of Port of Palm Beach’s application for a $13.2 million Port Infrastructure for Development Program grant (PIDP). If awarded the PIDP grant, the funding would allow Port of Palm Beach to expand its rail capability by 116 percent. In the letter, Congressman Mast states, "This proposal will double the current capacity of containers of the Port’s intermodal rail by conducting a new intermodal rail transfer facility that will replace the current one."  

The letter of support was signed almost three months after Port of Palm Beach Executive Director Manuel Almira and Director of Planning and Development Carl Baker discussed the project with Congressman Mast’s Congressional Aide Jordan Séjour. Séjour personally delivered the letter to Almira Friday, July 24th. 

Read letter... 

Port Engineer's update on dredging 

The port dredging project went out for bid on August 14th. Bids are due September 14th.  The bids were issued to a pre-approved group of contractors who operate hopper dredges in the Southeast United States. The project was planned to straddle the FY2020/FY2021 budget years to allow a larger allocation of funds.
 
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been working with, Port Engineer Ron Coddington, on a medium-range plan to address the cause of shoaling and the funding sources.
 
“For the past six years, the Port of Palm Beach has experienced emergency dredging requirements due to two main issues,” said Coddington.
 
“The first is the leaking of sand through the North Jetty. The Army Corps of Engineers has a project out for bid that will address this issue, with the addition of new granite boulders to the jetty, and the re-configuring of the existing boulders to provide for a “tightened” jetty to resist sand leaking. It is possible the leaking of the south jetty may be addressed in this contract depending on funding.”
 
The bulk of sand movement along our coast occurs north to south, which means tightening the north jetty is most important.
 
Coddington says dredging of the Lake Worth Inlet in the past years, has only addressed the channel. The area in the settling basin that’s located north of the channel, consist of an area where the sand has been dredged to a depth of 35 plus feet. That area provides for a pocket to collect sand before it washes into our channel. The lack of dredging of this area in the past six years has resulted in a high volume of sand filling the basin to a depth of less than 10 feet in some areas. This sand sits there and is available to be pushed into our channel to create shoaling at every high wave north swell event, typical of winter months.
 
“This current bidding dredging project will remove up to 75,000 cubic yards from our channel and has an option to remove up to 34,000 cubic yards from the settling basin,” said Coddington.
 
The goal of the USACE and the Port of Palm Beach, is to work on a plan to limit the requirements for emergency dredging, and work to an ultimate plan of scheduled dredging every other year. In order to get to this sequence, complete emptying of the settling basin’s approximately 350,000 cubic yards is necessary.
 
Every time we dredge, it costs an estimate $1,000,000 in mobilization just to get a dredge here. In the past few years, the Port has required emergency and scheduled dredging to keep up with shoaling.

Florida Ports seek relief amid pandemic 

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the maritime industry. Since March, the Port of Palm Beach has experienced a 20% decrease in container volume. This is due to the demand for food declining as a result of cruise lines suspending their operations and a local of tourists in the Caribbean. The most obvious impact is of course, is Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line suspending its sailings. 

The Florida Ports Council recently sent an letter to members of Congress urging relief to the maritime sector based on new economic impact analysis conducted by an maritime research company called Martin Associates. The survey and review of cargo and passenger activity at Florida’s seaports indicated that COVID-19 will likely result in the loss of 5.6 million tons of liquid bulk cargo, 1.6 million tons of dry bulk cargo, and a loss of 4.9 million passengers at our seaports. The loss in total economic activity in the state of Florida resulting from the loss of cargo and cruise activity at Florida seaports is estimated at almost $23 billion.
 
"Florida’s seaports are one of the state’s greatest economic assets, positively affecting every region and every resident. In fact, the Port of Palm Beach provides approximately 2,400 direct and indirect jobs, which contribute $260 million in business revenue and $12 million in state and federal tax revenues annually," said Doug Wheeler, President and CEO pf the Florida Ports Council. 

Wheeler noted in the letter that no funding has been provided to date in COVID-19 relief packages to assist the maritime industry. Funding is needed for emergency response, cleaning, staffing, workforce retention, paid leave, procurement of protective health equipment, debt service payments, and lost revenue.

Read Florida's Ports Council letter to Congress

Upcoming Commission Meetings

• September 17 (Virtual)
• October 15
• November 19

You're invited to attend our Board of Commissioners meetings, held at 4:00 pm in the Board Room, on the 6th Floor at the Port's Maritime Office Complex (MOC). The MOC is located at 1 East 11th Street in the City of Riviera Beach. Agendas and Minutes are posted on our website: bit.ly/2nBZbh6.