Ports America extends Tampa concession

Tom Perdue, Ports America Stevedoring President, said that the stevedore had a great working relationship with the port.

“For the past 10 years, Ports America and Port Tampa Bay have enjoyed a committed, productive partnership and look forward to increasing containerised imports from vessels arriving through the newly expanded Panama Canal as well as trans-Atlantic cargo shipments,” he said.

“This important extended contract will bring value-added services to the local economy and the region.”

Part of the new value at the terminal is the joint purchase of two new ZPMC post-Panamax gantry cranes made in Shanghai, China, which arrived in April and assembled and tested in 60 days.

These cranes have a SWL of 65 tonnes, are 310 feet tall and have a width reach of 21 containers across. They will supplement the facility’s existing three gantry cranes.

Ports America, headquartered in New Jersey, is the largest independent marine terminal operator and stevedore company in the United States operating in more than 42 ports and 80 locations.

Port Tampa Bay is a leader in the handling of bulk and break‐bulk cargos, including phosphate, steel and petroleum, as well as in the shipbuilding industry. It handled more than 36 million tons of cargo in the fiscal year ended 30 September 2014.

At the same time, it has emerged among the top eight US cruise ports handling nearly 900,000 passenger moves a year.