Port Traffic Trends: Miami
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PortMiami Reports Strongest Container Traffic In Ten Years, Record Cruise Season
PortMiami reports container movements through its facilities totaled 1,006,800 TEUs during the fiscal year ending September 30, 2015. That was up the 15 percent from FY 2013-14, giving the port its highest TEU count in a decade.
Latin America and the Caribbean accounted for approximately half of PortMiami’s shipping traffic, much of it transported by Seaboard Marine. Asian trade is also on the rise at PortMiami, thanks to multiple weekly services offered by three major carrier alliances.
PortMiami sees itself as well positioned to capture new trade opportunities thanks to the completion of more than $1 billion of capital infrastructure projects, including super post-Panamax gantry cranes that can service cargo vessels up to 22 containers wide and up to nine containers above deck and eleven containers below. On-dock intermodal rail service in partnership with Florida East Coast Railway now links PortMiami to 70 percent of the U.S. population in four days or less. A new tunnel connects the port directly to the U.S. Interstate Highway System.
Additionally, the newly a completed -50/-52 foot dredge project opens the port to neo-Panamax size container ships with container capacity of up to 13,000 TEUs.
On the cruise side of the business, PortMiami experienced yet another exceptional year, with the revenue passenger count at a record high of nearly 4.9 million.
This week Miami will host the christening of Norwegian Cruise Line’s 4,248-passenger Norwegian Escape as it begins year-round sailings from the south Florida port.
An agreement with MSC Cruises that will be presented later this month to the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners promises to substantially boost passenger throughput. This year, MSC will begin year-round sailings from Miami this year. Beginning in winter 2017, Miami will homeport MSC Seaside, the first in a new class of cruise ships.
Another positive development was the announcement from Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Cruises, selecting PortMiami as homeport for the first of the new cruise line’s three new cruise ships. Virgin Cruises plans to offer a range of seven-day Caribbean itineraries from PortMiami starting in 2020.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCC) plans a $150 million expansion at PortMiami as part of a public-private partnership. By its terms, RCC will finance, design, construct, operate and maintain a new Cruise Terminal A. The port expects the deal will bring from 800,000 to 1.0 million additional cruise passengers to Miami.
Carnival Cruise Line’s 3,936-passenger Carnival Vista, the company’s newest and largest ship, is scheduled to launch from Miami starting in fall 2016. Its 3,006-passenger Carnival Splendor recently started sailing from the port. Additionally, Carnival Corporation recently named PortMiami as homeport for its new social impact travel brand—Fathom, which will embark on seven-day voyages starting in 2016.
AIDA Cruise Line is also adding three cruise ships to its Miami line-up, AIDAmar, AIDAvita and the AIDAdiva. Costa Cruises will introduce a second seasonal vessel to Miami, the Costa Mediterranea. Both companies are Carnival Corporation brands.
PortMiami is working on extending its berthing agreement with Disney Cruise Line and anticipates presenting it to the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners later this month.
"2015 was PortMiami’s best financial year; improving its coverage ratio, augmenting operating revenues to record numbers and increasing its reserve carryover to an all-time record", said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez. "We want to thank our customers for their loyalty and trust in Miami-Dade County and PortMiami. Solid partnerships and continued commitment to growing the business allows Miami-Dade County to stay competitive and generate an economic impact of approximately $27 billion and more than 207,000 jobs a year."
PortMiami reports container movements through its facilities totaled 1,006,800 TEUs during the fiscal year ending September 30, 2015. That was up the 15 percent from FY 2013-14, giving the port its highest TEU count in a decade.
Latin America and the Caribbean accounted for approximately half of PortMiami’s shipping traffic, much of it transported by Seaboard Marine. Asian trade is also on the rise at PortMiami, thanks to multiple weekly services offered by three major carrier alliances.
PortMiami sees itself as well positioned to capture new trade opportunities thanks to the completion of more than $1 billion of capital infrastructure projects, including super post-Panamax gantry cranes that can service cargo vessels up to 22 containers wide and up to nine containers above deck and eleven containers below. On-dock intermodal rail service in partnership with Florida East Coast Railway now links PortMiami to 70 percent of the U.S. population in four days or less. A new tunnel connects the port directly to the U.S. Interstate Highway System.
Additionally, the newly a completed -50/-52 foot dredge project opens the port to neo-Panamax size container ships with container capacity of up to 13,000 TEUs.
On the cruise side of the business, PortMiami experienced yet another exceptional year, with the revenue passenger count at a record high of nearly 4.9 million.
This week Miami will host the christening of Norwegian Cruise Line’s 4,248-passenger Norwegian Escape as it begins year-round sailings from the south Florida port.
An agreement with MSC Cruises that will be presented later this month to the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners promises to substantially boost passenger throughput. This year, MSC will begin year-round sailings from Miami this year. Beginning in winter 2017, Miami will homeport MSC Seaside, the first in a new class of cruise ships.
Another positive development was the announcement from Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Cruises, selecting PortMiami as homeport for the first of the new cruise line’s three new cruise ships. Virgin Cruises plans to offer a range of seven-day Caribbean itineraries from PortMiami starting in 2020.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCC) plans a $150 million expansion at PortMiami as part of a public-private partnership. By its terms, RCC will finance, design, construct, operate and maintain a new Cruise Terminal A. The port expects the deal will bring from 800,000 to 1.0 million additional cruise passengers to Miami.
Carnival Cruise Line’s 3,936-passenger Carnival Vista, the company’s newest and largest ship, is scheduled to launch from Miami starting in fall 2016. Its 3,006-passenger Carnival Splendor recently started sailing from the port. Additionally, Carnival Corporation recently named PortMiami as homeport for its new social impact travel brand—Fathom, which will embark on seven-day voyages starting in 2016.
AIDA Cruise Line is also adding three cruise ships to its Miami line-up, AIDAmar, AIDAvita and the AIDAdiva. Costa Cruises will introduce a second seasonal vessel to Miami, the Costa Mediterranea. Both companies are Carnival Corporation brands.
PortMiami is working on extending its berthing agreement with Disney Cruise Line and anticipates presenting it to the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners later this month.
"2015 was PortMiami’s best financial year; improving its coverage ratio, augmenting operating revenues to record numbers and increasing its reserve carryover to an all-time record", said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez. "We want to thank our customers for their loyalty and trust in Miami-Dade County and PortMiami. Solid partnerships and continued commitment to growing the business allows Miami-Dade County to stay competitive and generate an economic impact of approximately $27 billion and more than 207,000 jobs a year."
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