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 ...

located in the eastern

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United St ...

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 Central Florida portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 US Census, the population was 399,710. Manatee County is part of the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its county ...

. It is one of Florida's largest deepwater seaports and also regarded as the closest U.S. deepwater seaport to the Panama Canal. The port handles a variety of bulk, breakbulk, containerized, and heavy-lift project cargoes.

History

Manatee County bought in 1965 to launch a Barge Port and Industrial Port which later became known as Port Manatee. The

Florida Legislature The Florida Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. State of Florida. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article III, Section 1 of the Florida Con ...

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 become more diversified. Berth 11 was built and Berth 12 played a role in rebuilding the

Sunshine Skyway Bridge The Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge, often referred to as the Sunshine Skyway Bridge or the Sunshine Skyway, consists of a pair of long beam bridges with a central cable-stayed bridge that spans Lower Tampa Bay to connect St. Petersburg, Fl ...

. Between 1993 and 2003, the MS Regal Empress from Regal Cruises sailed out of Port Manatee from Berth 9. 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, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

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

Imports and exports

The port handles approximately 8 million tons of cargo each year.

Primary imports

*Tropical fruits and vegetables *Citrus juices and beverages *Forestry products *Refined petroleum products *Finished phosphate fertilizers *Non-ferrous metals *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 *Citrus Juices *Construction and road building equipment *Used vehicles *LNG Heat Exchangers *Power Generation Units

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