The Port of Fernandina is located on Florida’s Atlantic coast and provides port and terminal service, for both imports and exports to more than 14 pulp and paper producers located throughout Florida and the Southeastern United States, as well as steel and lumber export services to several steel companies with mills in the Southeast.

To better accommodate customers, capital investments of nearly $10 million have been made, and additional investments are planned for the coming years. The Port has deepened its berths to 40 feet MLW, added 3 new cranes, and a new Terminal Operating System. It has replaced and upgraded its fleet of cargo handling equipment for all types of cargos. With recent USACE maintenance dredging of Fernandina’s federal channel, the Port is now accessible to ships with drafts of up to 40 feet.

The Port is contemplating an expansion to increase the capacity of the Port’s on-dock warehouses and rail transloading facilities, as well as to modernize the Port’s truck gates. The Port currently has 230,000 square-foot of on-port warehouse facilities, over 130,000 square- feet of off-port warehouse facilities, and daily on-dock rail service. It also has a fully certified Container Freight Station, and will soon be adding Foreign Trade Zone designation. The Port Operator runs a fleet of 6 trucks to service its customers.

Goals & Objectives

  • The Port’s 5-year capital improvement plan has an emphasis on sustainability, cargo growth and mitigating impacts to the surrounding community and environment.
  • Increase containerized cargo, including direct services to the Caribbean and Latin America.
  • Diversify breakbulk commodities to include more steel and lumber.
  • Explore additional revenue streams.

Current or Planned Investments

  • An 800’ Pier and Dock extension is being studied to increase the Port’s berths to 2,000 l.f.
  • Expansion & modernization of the Port’s on-dock/rail loading complex that will add over 150,000 sf of warehouse space, improve velocity, and additional rail car loading and unloading capacity.

Accomplishments

  • Worldwide Terminals has completed its fourth full year of operations
  • Berth deepening to 40 feet MLW has been accomplished for the Port’s 1,200 l.f. of docks
  • Federal Channel Maintenance Dredging has been performed allowing access for ships with drafts of up to 40 feet
  • A state of the art Terminal Operating System provides port customers and users with real-time access to data, and status of cargos in inventory and shipping details.

Hinterland

The southeastern U.S. and gulf states. Major metropolitan areas include Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, Atlanta and New Orleans. As the most westerly port on the East Coast, the Midwest and the Great Lakes region can also be served efficiently. The Port of Fernandina enjoys excellent CSX rail connections with major paper and steel mills in the U.S. Southeast. Its geographical location also allows truckers to reach cities such as Memphis, Charleston, Richmond, Mobile and all of Florida in a day or less, at competitive prices.

Trade Partners

Mission

The Ocean Highway and Port Authority was created in 1941 and authorized to carry out public purposes of benefit to the citizens of the county of Nassau and the state of Florida.