By Paul Scott Abbott, AJOTEfforts aimed at handling greater volumes of containerized cargo are advancing at most ports along Florida’s Gulf Coast, with Port Manatee, the Port of Tampa and Port Panama City all bolstering container terminal infrastructure. Officials at the ports say their development plans are propelled by the expansion of the Panama Canal, which is scheduled for completion in 2014. Looking individually at Florida Gulf ports, starting at Tampa Bay and moving northwesterly along the Florida Panhandle: Port Manatee Near the entrance to Tampa Bay, Port Manatee has been adding infrastructure to enhance service to existing tenants and attract containerized cargo customers. A new Gottwald mobile harbor crane – the port’s second – entered service in August, while a major container berth project continues to move forward. That project, tied to a $9 million second-phase Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER II) grant, is developing a 1,584-foot-long berth with a controlled depth of 41 feet alongside, to be augmented by a 32-acre container yard that eventually is to grow an additional 20 acres. Construction of the Port Dolphin offshore liquefied natural gas regasification facility is on target for an early 2012 start date; a 100-acre Vecenergy petroleum tank farm is set for a mid-2011 groundbreaking adjacent to Port Manatee; and Martin Marietta Materials Inc.’s nearly mile-long conveyor system is up and running at a 20-acre aggregate yard at the port. A tax increment financing district offers incentives for projects in a 5,000-acre area. Port Manatee has recently expanded its marketing staff, adding former Tropical Shipping sales and marketing director as director of international sales and, as consultants, former Massachusetts Port Authority executive Marty Pilsch and former NYK Line (North America) Inc. president Peter Keller. Port of Tampa At the Port of Tampa’s growing container terminal, Zim American Integrated Shipping has launched a weekly direct container service with Mexico, effective Jan 29. In November, Zim, the Port of Tampa’s container service partner since 2003, expanded its South America Express service to add direct connections to Tampa from Brazil and Venezuela. The new Mexico service is beginning as the Port of Tampa has just completed the latest phase of its container terminal expansion by extending container gantry crane rails and lengthening the berth to 2,800 feet from 2,100 feet. In 2010, the Tampa Port Authority expanded the terminal’s paved storage area to 40 acres from 25 acres and installed an additional 52 outlets for refrigerated containers. Together with terminal operator Ports America, the authority has plans to quadruple the size of the terminal to more than 160 acres over the next several years, based upon market demand. To further enhance the Port of Tampa’s market access, construction is well under way on a dedicated truck ramp and elevated connector designed to, when completed in 2013, provide a direct link from the port to the Interstate highway system, which connects Tampa with Orlando to the east and Atlanta to the north. Port of Port St. Joe On the Florida Panhandle, the Port St. Joe Port Authority is continuing the lengthy process of pursuing state and federal environmental permits in hopes of commencing development of a deepwater cargo terminal facility before the end of 2011. Officials are seeking a private-sector partner for development of a 65-acre parcel with a 35-foot-deep berthing area. The authority has acquired property to facilitate expansion of its barge berth facility to 100 acres from 68 acres. That facility, offering 12-foot-draft barge berthing on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, has recently gained roadway access, and port officials are in negotiations with potential users for the site. Port Panama City At Port Panama City, efforts continue toward increasing containerized cargo activity. A recent land acquisition