Port of Palm Beach Riviera Beach, FL

The Port of Palm Beach is a full-service diversified landlord port located in Riviera Beach. The port and its dozens of tenants continue to constitute a powerful engine for economic development and job creation, employing more than 3,800 people in the South Florida region and the state.

At only 162 acres, the port can handle any size cargo. Its efficiency is unparalleled, annually processing more than $7 billion in commodities, with food being the port’s primary export sector. Almost 80 percent of all goods passing through the port are exported, making the Port of Palm Beach one of only 16 “export ports” in the United States.

More than 2.5 million tons of cargo and 462,000 cruise passengers move through the Port of Palm Beach on an annual basis, generating at least $254 million in business revenue. The Port of Palm Beach is an important distribution center for commodities shipped all over the world, especially into the Caribbean Basin. Operations include those handling containerized, dry bulk, liquid bulk, breakbulk, roll-on/roll-off and heavylift project cargos. Additionally, the port has, since 1987, provided Foreign-Trade Zone No. 135 to the region, encompassing both port and private-sector sites.

The Port of Palm Beach consistently ranks as the fourth-busiest container port among Florida’s 15 deepwater ports. The port has three slips, 17 berths and seven roll-on/roll-off ramps. It offers 6,500 linear feet of berthing space to accommodate vessels as many as 700 feet long and 100 feet wide. With an operating draft of 33 feet at mean low water, the port’s docks are a 20-minute transit from the first sea buoy.

The port is easily accessible from Interstate 95, Florida’s Turnpike and Florida East Coast Railway, allowing for seamless, cost-effective cargo movement. Florida East Coast Railway provides twice-daily service to the port’s rail interchange. Offering the convenience of on-dock rail, the port owns and operates a locomotive and 6.5 miles of track. The industrial switching operation is capable of handling box, hopper and double-stack rail cars, with 24/7 operations. Rail operations can accommodate 20-axle rail cars, with 450-ton capacity.

In addition to servicing the on-port cargo tenants, the Port of Palm Beach works with its exclusive cruise line, Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line. Its two ships – the Grand Celebration and Grand Classica – offer two-night cruises to Grand Bahama Island and Nassau. The cruise line also offers a unique cruise-and-stay program to its passengers.

The port is a special taxing district, a subdivision of the State of Florida, governed by five elected commissioners. The port has not levied any taxes for the past 43 years.