Port Tampa Bay (Florida USA) is raising tariffs on more than a dozen services over the next years, including fees on parking, cruise ships, and passengers.
Port commissioners on Tuesday, September 20, approved the 13 tariff hikes (the most in 1 year since 2014) after an annual review of its finances/fees at other ports around the Southeast and the Gulf Coast.
At the port’s monthly board meeting, Greg Lovelace, the port’s senior director of business development, said their rates were on the low end, if not the lowest, and for the most part, they remained competitive.
The revised tariffs include 5% increases on wharfage for bulk/general cargo and a 3% annual increase on dockage, both starting October 1. Dockage fees apply when a vessel berths at a dock, while wharfage fees apply when cargo is unloaded.
Parking for cruise passengers at port facilities increases by 5% starting in October 2023. That is pushing the daily rates of US$15 per car and US$30 per bus or recreational vehicle to US$15.75 and US$31.50, respectively. In the same month, cruise shipping companies will see passenger wharfage rates rise from US$8 to US$8.50 per passenger, and cruise ship dockage/wharfage increase by 5%.
Also increasing 5%: Harbour master/license fees, throughput rates/fees for weighing vehicles, stevedore usage/short-term land usage. Those increases start October 1.
Image: Port of Tampa (Florida)
The tariffs, according to Lovelace, are used for things like facility maintenance, dock construction, and compliance with U.S. Customs and Border Protection operations.