By Paul Scott Abbott, AJOT From new cranes to visions of greenfield port facility development to freezer terminal expansion, port authorities along the Gulf Coast of Florida are looking to provide increased cargo-moving capabilities. Taking a one-by-one look at the latest at seaports along the Sunshine State’s Gulf Coast, starting at the entrance to Tampa Bay and moving north, then westward along the Florida Panhandle: PORT MANATEE Armed with its first mobile container crane, dedicated in January 2008, Port Manatee is adding services to augment its long-time principal agreement with Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. A new every-10-days container and breakbulk cargo service by Fort Lauderdale-based HySea Shipping between Port Manatee and Puerto Cortes, Honduras, began Jan. 22, a month after Jacksonville, FL-based SeaBridge Freight initiated short-sea container-on-barge service on a 10-day rotation between Port Manatee and Brownsville, Texas. Aiming to further capitalize upon its position as the closest deepwater US seaport to the expanding Panama Canal, Port Manatee, through a master plan model presented to the Manatee County Port Authority last fall, is looking to expand container terminal facilities and is hopeful that federal, state and local officials can bring to fruition a connector road project to directly link the port with Interstate 75. PORT OF TAMPA More than $40 million in new projects are advancing at the Port of Tampa, following Dec. 16 approval by the Tampa Port Authority Board of Commissioners. The projects include nearly $19 million for dredging to support new maritime business, as much as $14 million for a parking garage addition to accommodate Channelside area and cruise passenger growth, and $8.3 million for the first phase of expansion of the Port of Tampa Container Terminal. The Port of Tampa Container Terminal expansion, a joint undertaking between terminal operator Ports America and the authority, calls for completion by August of addition of 14.5 acres of paved storage area to augment the current 25-acre terminal. Eventually, the container terminal, which is on a 43-foot-deep channel and served by three container gantry cranes and a newly acquired 100-ton-lift-capacity mobile harbor crane, is to be expanded to encompass 140 acres. PORT OF PORT ST. JOE The Port St. Joe Port Authority appears well on its way to making a reality out of a longtime vision for greenfield development of a functioning deepwater seaport in a Panhandle community that has economically struggled since the 1997 closing of the St. Joe paper mill and box plant. On Dec. 15, the authority announced a 41-year agreement with The St. Joe Co. to lease a 63-acre site on St. Joseph Bay that, combined with 68 acres of contiguous port-owned property, paves the way for long-term port development. In the shorter term, a separate three-year lease for a 20-acre site with 1,000-foot bulkhead could facilitate commencement of shipments of construction aggregate materials this year by Gulf Cargo Facilities of Port St. Joe LLC. PORT OF PANAMA CITY Officials of the Port of Panama City point to diversity as a key to success, with the latest additions including an intensive, custom-built operation for export to Europe of wood pellets from the Green Circle Bio Energy Inc. plant 50 miles to the north. Production of the pellets, which began in July, has ramped up to a 1,000-ton-a-day pace, while frequency of vessel calls has increased to once every three weeks. The Port of Panama City has recently enhanced its container service offerings, augmenting the four US-Mexico sailings per week of Linea Peninsular with calls by the West Coast South America service of Seaboard Marine, Ltd. On the infrastructure front, the port has just completed a new six-door container examination station, is building three new maintenance shops and intends to soon let a contract for a $3 million refurbishment of 2,500 feet of bulkheads. PORT OF PENSACOLA The Port of Pen