PALMETTO, Florida – Port Manatee and longtime stevedoring tenant Kinder Morgan Port Manatee Terminal LLC have extended their lease agreement through August 2023, with options to continue cargo operations at a 5-acre waterfront site for as many as 18 additional years.

The agreement, approved today [Thursday, Sept. 19] by the Manatee County Port Authority, ensures property lease payments and wharfage fees during the initial three-year term and any extensions. 

Kinder Morgan Port Manatee Terminal LLC’s 5-acre site, on which the lease has been extended through at least August 2023, encompasses ship docks, cargo warehouses, conveyor systems and truck and rail sheds
Kinder Morgan Port Manatee Terminal LLC’s 5-acre site, on which the lease has been extended through at least August 2023, encompasses ship docks, cargo warehouses, conveyor systems and truck and rail sheds

“Port Manatee is delighted to ensure its mutually beneficial relationship with Kinder Morgan will remain in place for years to come,” said Manatee County Port Authority Chairwoman Vanessa Baugh.

Kinder Morgan has operated on the Port Manatee property since 2001, having assumed a lease in place with a predecessor entity dating back to the port’s opening in 1970. The initial term of the new lease runs from August 2020 through August 2023 and may be followed by an additional three-year extension plus three further extensions of five years apiece.

“As North America’s largest independent terminal-operating company, Kinder Morgan sees Port Manatee as a vital cog in a network that gets products where they need to be in an efficient, safe and timely manner,” said Jack Gale, Tampa-based commercial manager for Kinder Morgan Terminals, which operates more than 150 strategically located terminals. “We are pleased to continue to provide the highest quality of service at Port Manatee well into the future.”

The Kinder Morgan Port Manatee Terminal facility handles fertilizers, ores, salt and other inbound and outbound bulk cargos via multiple ship docks, warehouses, conveyor systems and truck and rail sheds.

“We are encouraged that Kinder Morgan Port Manatee Terminal saw fit to sign a multiyear extension of its lease well before the August 2020 conclusion of its existing agreement,” said Carlos Buqueras, Port Manatee’s executive director. “Port Manatee highly values its partnership with Kinder Morgan and looks forward to many more years of collaboration in proficiently serving bulk cargo industry demands.”

Located “Where Tampa Bay Meets the Gulf of Mexico,” Port Manatee is the closest U.S. deepwater seaport to the expanded Panama Canal, with 10 40-foot-draft berths serving container, bulk, breakbulk, heavylift, project and general cargo customers. The port generates more than $2.3 billion in annual economic impact for the local community, while supporting more than 24,000 jobs, without levying ad-valorem taxes.