Port St. Pete St. Petersburg, FL

Port St. Pete, located on Tampa Bay, is a multi-use facility that capitalizes on its unique assets within the city of St. Petersburg. The Port is located in the heart of downtown St. Petersburg, just a short walk from local shops, restaurants and bars, pristine parkland, and scores of galleries and museums, including the world-renowned Dali Museum.

Port St. Pete is the only superyacht marina on Florida’s Gulf Coast. The Port features a four-acre facility with outdoor storage areas and easy access to interstates, major highways and two international airports. With its existing facilities as well as the presence of many governmental, institutional and academic agencies engaged in maritime research, Port of St. Petersburg has both the institutional capacity and the infrastructure to fill a unique niche as an International Research Port.

The St. Petersburg Ocean Team (SPOT) is the premier consortium for marine science, oceanographic, and environmental research agencies and governmental institutions in the Southeast and one of the top such industry clusters in the nation. The downtown waterfront area is a major strength for the City. The City/Port staff is actively engaged with yacht captains on an interpersonal level, developing personal relationships and contacts/connections with them at events, boat shows, visits, media events, interactions, etc. The goal is to not only promote the Port, but also the City.

A number of large yachts have benefited from the amenities and services available while moored at the Port over the past several years including M/Y Tatoosh, one of the world’s largest yachts at 302 ft. with a crew of 30. This potential large yacht opportunity for the Port has evolved as a result of the proliferation of large yachts being constructed at a rapid pace throughout the world.

The Port’s 23-ft. project depth and 1,200 ft. lineal wharf continue to provide the typical services required by large vessels such as fuel, water, sewage pump out, resupply, security, crane service, customs processing, etc. As part of a recently completed $5 million wharf renovation, the Port has installed 6 power pedestals to meet the electrical needs of visiting large vessels. The power configurations now available at the Port include 480v, 3-phase, 600 amp service, as well as a variety of other electrical configurations including 220v and 208v service.

In partnership with the St. Pete Ocean Team the City is moving forward with implementation of the marine science/research educational “experience” within the existing Port Terminal Building. This new endeavor will be open to the public and will have a strong focus on enhancing the marine science/research knowledge of school children who could be bused to the facility during school hours. Through its membership in the Florida Ports Council, the Port has received Florida Seaport Transportation and Economic Development (FSTED) Grants and City capital matching funds. These funds are currently available to make modifications to the existing Port Terminal Building to help accommodate implementation of the marine science/research educational “experience”. Public access to the Port waterfront would be instantly enhanced through implementation of the Terminal Building marine science/research educational endeavor.