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Panama Canal Work May Help Tampa Port

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By TED JACKOVICS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 24, 2008

TAMPA - The Port of Tampa already serves fast-growing Central Florida, but it will be positioned to serve markets in South Florida by 2015 when the Panama Canal expansion is completed, a canal authority official said Wednesday.

The port soon could enjoy competitive advantages over South Florida ports that cannot easily expand or provide efficient truck access to highways, said Rodolfo Sabonge, Panama Canal Authority vice president, in its office of market research and analysis.

"What matters is what happens to the cargo once it is unloaded," Sabonge said.

Sabonge was one of two dozen business, seaport and government officials who spoke during the first day of a conference on "Shifting Trade Routes - Planning for the Panama Canal Expansion." The workshop drew 200 attendees to the Sheraton Tampa Riverwalk on Wednesday and concludes today.

The theme reflects shipping industry officials' expectations that the completion of the $5.25 billion Panama Canal expansion will create changes in trade routes, trade lane competition, infrastructure needs and customer expectations.

The expansion project is a response to projected international cargo shipping growth. The canal will be widened and deepened to allow much larger ships and to double annual capacity to more than 600 million tons.

Among the trends facing ports that speakers identified:

•Shippers. While the expansion will enable the passing of much larger ships, it is not known how many eastern and Gulf Coast ports will be able to accommodate them, or find it financially feasible to do so. That means a system of hub and spoke operations, similar to how airports such as Atlanta operate with larger aircraft feeding regional flights on smaller planes, could be created in or near Panama.

•Customers. Businesses will demand more flexibility to import and export their goods to take advantage of changing economics of truck and rail transportation and to diversify operations should problems such as terrorism affect a site.

• Seaport infrastructure. Even though just a few ports might want to accommodate the largest container cargo vessels, many ports will have to deepen channels and provide more space under strict environmental and other regulatory requirements.

• Connectivity. Truckers must contend with volatile fuel prices while U.S. railroads face equipment shortages and massive infrastructure improvements to move bigger loads.

•Economic volatility. In addition to inevitable economic cycles that affect purchases, the value of the dollar and other variables, other changes are likely as China moves toward becoming the world's economic leader while India joins economic leaders.

The Port of Tampa has planned for the effects of an expanded Panama Canal, local port officials agreed, but financing and implementing improvements are another matter.

Tampa Port Director Richard Wainio said the port can already handle container cargo ships that can carry between 4,000 and 5,000 20-foot-equivalent cargo containers. While those container cargo vessels are much smaller than those that can carry 12,600 cargo containers and will be able to travel through the expanded Panama Canal, Tampa's port should be able to handle much of the expected international trade growth, Wainio said.

But Tampa's plans include deepening channels and massive infrastructure improvements.

"Our system in the United States is basically broken," Wainio said regarding the time it takes to get permits and obtain government funding. "We have got to change the process to fast-track projects."

Reporter Ted Jackovics can be reached at (813) 259-7817 or tjackovics@tampatrib.com.

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