b'6American Journal ofTransportation ajot.comActivities of Eastern Shipbuilding Group Inc. are bringing life to the Port of Port St. Joe, along the Florida Panhandle.Florida Gulf Coast seaports bustle with broad spectrum of activitiesBy Paul Scott Abbott, AJOTSeaportsalongtheGulfSouthwest and Central FloridaBay, also a prominent cruise CoastofFloridaareteem- markets. homeport,hasbolstered ingwithdiverseactivities,itsconnectivitywithSouth fromhandlingawiderangeP ortt amPaB ay AmericaandtheCaribbean of containerized and outside- Alreadyenjoyingdou- bywayofMarchaddition the-box cargos, to homeport- ble-digit containerized cargo(BUSTLEcontinued onSeaPort Manatees two newest mobile harbor cranes lift containers filled ingcruiseships,tohostingactivitygrowth,Port Tampapage 8) with imports from Mexico from a World Direct Shipping vessel.shipbuildingoperationsand offshore sailing team training and even pickleball.Users of Florida seaports benefitfromdirectproxim-ity to the dynamic consumer market of the nations third-most-populousstate,which includes23.4millionresi- Southwest dents and which received 143 million visitors in 2024.Starting where the Gulf ofFloridasOrlandoMexico meets Tampa Bay and headingnorthandthenwest-ward, heres a rundown of theGateway tolatest at Sunshine State seaports along the Gulf of America:s ea P ortm anatee Global TradeThe closest U.S. deepwater seaport to the Panama Canal, theManateeCountyPort AuthoritysSeaPortManatee, located near the Gulf entranceLocated at the entrance to Tampa Bay, SeaPort Manatee is one to Tampa Bay, recently addedof Floridas fastest-growing deepwater seaports, providing time-saving moreliftcapabilitiestohelpconnections to key transportation routes I-75, I-275, and the CSX mainline.handle record levels of diverse cargoactivity.Twoneweco- As the closest U.S. container seaport with multiple weekly liner services to efficient Konecranes GottwaldMexico and Central America, SeaPort Manatee provides shippers and businesses Generation6mobileharborwith strategic transportation solutions and streamlined logistics.cranesenteredserviceinFrom breakbulk to bulk, to project cargo, containers, and 1 million square feet of December, bringing to a total of seven the number of Gottwaldcold and dry storage facilitieslet us show you why SeaPort Manatee is your global units in use at the port. Vesselssupply chain solution.beingworkedwiththenew cranes include those of SeaPort Manatee-headquarteredWorld Direct Shipping, providing the fastestshort-sealinkbetween Mexico and the U.S. SoutheastMANATEE COUNTY PORT AUTHORITYsince 2014. 300 Tampa Bay WayPalmetto, FL 34221Last fall, SeaPort Mana- (941) 722 6621teeimpressivelyreboundedwww.SeaPortManatee.comfrom destruction wrought by HurricaneMilton,resum-ingcriticalfueldistribution activitieswithin72hours ofthestormsOct.9land-fall, while swiftly advancing repairs to port infrastructure with a boost from state emer-gency funding. In March, Agunsa Mana-tee Terminal, a unit of Miami-based maritime logistics leader AGS,augmenteditsSeaPort Manatee presence with open-ingofa50,000-square-foot warehouseforstorageof imported bulk productsthe latestinfrastructureaddition at the gateway for burgeoning'