New South American Service for Port Everglades

Published Oct 6, 2005 12:01 AM by The Maritime Executive

Florida International Terminal (F.I.T.), which began operating at Broward County's Port Everglades in July 2005, announced that it is now handling a new weekly service, called USATLAN, from the East Coast of the United States to the East Coast of South America.

The new USATLAN Service is a vessel sharing agreement between Chilean-based Compania Sudamerica De Vapores S.A. (CSAV), Libra and Montemar with CP Ships participating on a slot charter basis.

The Broward County Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved a long-term agreement with F.I.T. in June 2005. The terminal lease agreement calls for a 10-year lease with two five-year renewal options on an existing 36-acre dockside marine terminal. In addition, FIT plans to lease office space at the Port Everglades Administration Building on Eller Drive.

F.I.T.'s operations at Port Everglades are anticipated to generate throughput of more than 70,000 containers and one-million short tons of cargo annually. The terminal handles cargo from CSAV, CCNI, Libra, Montemar, CP Ships, Hamburg Sud, Hanjin and Zim Lines, among others.

In its first 10 years, F.I.T.'s terminal lease is projected to generate approximately $62 million in marine services revenue, which includes a land lease, for Port Everglades.

A Florida limited liability company, F.I.T. is 70 percent owned by SAAM Florida, Inc., and 30 percent owned by AGUNSA Miami, Inc. SAAM's parent company is owned by CSAV, one of South America's largest shipping consortiums and the 16th largest container shipping line in the world. In the South Florida market, CSAV ranks as the fourth largest shipping line in the container trade.

Port Everglades, ranked the 12th leading container seaport in the United States, is a world-class cargo handling facility that serves as an ideal point of entry for products shipped to and from Central America, the Caribbean and South America.

The Port has direct access to the interstate highway system, is within two miles of the FEC rail hub and is just one mile from the Atlantic Shipping Lanes. Ongoing capital improvements and expansion ensure that Port Everglades will have the ability to handle the Port's growing container traffic.

More information about Broward County's Port Everglades is available on the Internet at http://www.broward.org.