New $16.4M Cruise Ship Dock Planned for Port Everglades, Fla.

Oct. 28, 2004
The money would add another parking spot for a cruise mega-ship by the winter of 2007-2008.

Port Everglades plans to spend $16.4 million to build a 12th cruise terminal as the Broward County port continues to attract more and larger ships.

The money would add another parking spot for a cruise mega-ship by the winter of 2007-2008.

The port plans to convert an underused warehouse at Berth 27 to dual use and lengthen the combined Berths 26 and 27 from about 1,200 feet to around 2,000 feet, said port trade development director Carlos Buqueras.

"The berth is not long enough right now," Buqueras said, to accommodate two of the industry's large 900-foot ships.

Currently it is used as an overflow berth to dock smaller-sized ships, typically luxury vessels that call infrequently. But the cruise industry is stationing larger vessels more often at Port Everglades, such as the 2,974-passenger Carnival Liberty expected to begin regular six- and eight-day sailings in November 2005.

Buqueras said he didn't know if Terminal 27 would become the standard dock for Carnival Liberty or any other particular brand.

Lengthening Berth 27 will require the port to reconfigure a tug-turning basin at the south end of the berth, Buqueras said.

About $80 million of upgrades are being made at the port that will benefit the cruise industry. They include expansion of baggage halls in terminals 2, 4 and 21 to handle more passengers at a combined cost of $8.25 million.

New ramps are being built at the Northport parking garage to make traffic flow easier. That $3.6 million project is nearly complete. A second Northport garage will add 550 spaces by the end of 2006 at a cost of $10.6 million.

The port also has $44.8 million in security-related infrastructure improvements in the pipeline that will benefit the cruise industry by segregating container cargo trucks from other types of traffic at the port.