3 min read November 2023 — Port Everglades is one of the busiest cruise ports in the world and one of South Florida’s foremost economic engines, serving as a gateway for both international trade and cruise vacations. Invest: spoke with Jonathan Daniels, chief executive officer and port director of Port Everglades Authority, about the highlights from the last year, the port’s current partnerships and his outlook for business moving forward.
What have been the major highlights over the last 12 months?
During the pandemic, we became very aggressive and looked at what’s going to make us stronger, not only after recovery or through recovery, but beyond. And that’s been very evident in the way in which we now present ourselves.
In regard to our cruise business, we all know that the industry was not just slowed down, but it was completely shut down during the pandemic. Over the last year, what we thought was going to be about 1.9 million passengers ended up being close to 3 million. We’re now seeing new lines that are coming in with a focus on aspects of ultra-high luxury and premium brands. All of us are extremely excited about Disney opening up their second year-round homeport in the state of Florida. And that will be the culmination of a $35 million investment in terminal four, which is going to give us a significant increase in our overall passenger numbers.
Going into our cargo operations, during the last few years, we’re continuing to exceed 1 million containers annually. Recently, CMA CGM and ONE announced new services to Port Everglades, which is another success for us.
How did your team navigate the natural disasters and flooding in April 2023?
We were very pleased with the resiliency of the port and the way the infrastructure performed. The event that occurred in April was a fortunate/unfortunate event. It was fortunate because the facilities within the port and the roadway structures that we have performed beautifully. It was the energy sector that was largely impacted. The one thing that did not shut down at all were the pipelines leading to both Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport as well as Miami International Airport, because we provide all the fuel to those two facilities.
Typically, we have the opportunity to plan for natural disasters. We feel that we came out of this in a very positive manner. We’ve been very fortunate to receive a $19 million grant from the Port Improvement Development Program as well as a $32 million grant from the state. Both of those will go toward bulkhead rehabilitation and redevelopment. It allows us the opportunity to be able to take into consideration sea level rise, as well as other climate change factors to build new, more resilient stronger bulkheads.
How is the port using its current partnerships to boost cargo and trade?
We are one of the top ports when it comes to north-south trade in Latin America. Because of proximity, especially to Central America and the Caribbean, it is always going to be a strength of the port. We are an economic development agency with transportation at its core, and it comes down to the ability to create additional jobs within the region and strengthen the economy of South Florida. The impact that we have on the region can’t be overstated. We talk about Miami and Port Everglades like they are a single port with two individual and distinct terminal complexes. Approximately 69% of all the imports that come into Port Everglades are destined and consumed in Miami-Dade County. We rely on each other for a variety of cargos.
On the cargo side, we have always wanted to be able to strengthen the east-west trade. A primary focus on what we do is our organic growth strategy. And while it is very appealing to go out and travel the globe to acquire brand new business, we are just as happy, if not more so, to be able to work with our existing trade partners, our terminal operators and the carriers that we have here.
How is your team navigating the current economic environment?
When you take a look at the ability to plan for the future, we’re in the process of updating our 20-year Master/Vision Plan. We’ve come up with an economic development, strategic business plan, which is a very short-term, nimble approach that allows us the opportunity to turn on a dime as necessary based on global factors. We are not a port that puts all of its eggs in one basket. Before we make a decision, we look at a certain trade lane, look at the development of a new piece of infrastructure and look at the analytics. We take advantage of the necessary business intelligence. We look at what makes sense and allows us the opportunity to evolve without overwhelming and driving out the existing businesses that we have here. Apart from that, we want to make sure that we enhance the quality of the place instead of overwhelming the community and causing congestion. When we evaluate infrastructure development internally, we also look at ways outside the gates of Port Everglades that will allow us the opportunity to have a smooth transition from port to the other modes of transport.
How is the port addressing resiliency and emissions issues?
The port recently completed an electrification master plan. Being able to deploy a phased approach to install shore power at all eight of our terminals is a very expensive but necessary process. All of us need to come together and make sure that we are providing all the resources necessary. Certainly, the county through the port, we’ll be making a sizable investment. And then we’ll also be looking at the cruise lines to step up in some way. It’s a true public-private partnership to be able to address the emission standards that they’re going to have to maintain, and the port’s willing to step up and help them do that.
For more information, visit:
