News & Updates
Seaport Spotlight: Port of Palm Beach
The Port of Palm Beach is a full-service diversified landlord port located in Riviera Beach, Florida. The port and its dozens of tenants continue to be a powerful engine for economic development and job creation; employing more than 3,800 people in the South Florida region and the state.
Its efficiency is unparalleled, processing more than $14 billion in commodities, with food being the port’s primary export commodity. Almost 80% of all goods passing through the port are exported, making the Port of Palm Beach one of only 16 “Export Ports” in the country. More than 2.5 million tons of cargo move through the Port of Palm Beach every year. All of this, despite the fact the Port is only 165 acres in size.
The Port of Palm Beach is an important distribution center for commodities shipped all over the world, especially the Caribbean Basin. Operations include containerized, dry bulk, liquid bulk, break-bulk, Ro/Ro and heavy-lift/project cargoes. Additionally, the port has provided a FTZ to the region since 1987, which encompasses both port and private sector sites. It consistently ranks as the fourth busiest container port of Florida’s 15 seaports.
The port has three slips, 17 berths, and seven Ro/Ro ramps for 6,500 linear feet of berthing space, to accommodate vessels up to 700 feet long and 100 feet wide. With an operating draft of 33 feet MLW, the port’s docks are a 15-minute transit from the firs sea buoy.
The port is easily accessible from I-95, Florida’s Turnpike, and the Florida East Coast Railway (FECR), allowing for seamless, cost-effective cargo movement. The FECR 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.
The Port offers a two-night cruise service through Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line. The Port recently became home to the first Margaritaville brand cruise ship called Margaritaville Paradise. The exclusive cruise line, Margaritaville at Sea, will offer passengers two-night cruises to Grand Bahamas Island. The cruise line will provide a unique ship to shore experience allowing passengers to add a four-to-six-night vacation at all-inclusive hotels on Grand Bahama Island. The Port is an independent special taxing district, a subdivision of the state of Florida governed by five elected commissioners. The Port of Palm Beach District has statutory authority to levy ad valorem millage taxes, but has not done so in more than 47 years.