ties and projections are taken from the Florida Waterport Systems Study, Flor- 

 ida Department of Transportation (1978a). 



Tampa 



The Port of Tampa is located at the head of Hillsborough Bay (the easter- 

 ly extension of Tampa Bay) in close proximity to Tampa's central business dis- 

 trict. Deepwater access to the Gulf of Mexico is provided by 41 miles of 

 dredged channel. Minimum channel dimensions are 34 ft deep and 400 ft wide. 

 In 1978 the dredged main channel was deepened to 43 ft. Additional channels 

 maintained at 30 ft depth connect the main port facilities on the Hooker's 

 Point peninsula with various other terminals along the shores of Tampa, Old 

 Tampa, and Hillsborough Bays. The main shipping channels also intersect the 

 Port Manatee Channel, the St. Petersburg Channel, and the Intracoastal Water- 

 way. Other means of access to the port are the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, 

 Interstate Highways (1-4 and 1-75), Tampa International Airport, and the 

 Peter 0. Knight Municipal Airport, which maintains a seaplane landing basin. 



The port's cargo storage capacity in 1975 was about 843,738 ft of cov- 

 ered storage, 1,750,000 ft^^ of refrigerated storage, 4,095,511 ft^ of open 

 storage, and 10,843,145 barrels of liquid bulk storage. Ship berthing facil- 

 ities consist of 21,178 linear ft of port authority owned wharves and 

 34,522 ft of privately owned wharves. Most berths are maintained at depths 

 exceeding 30 ft. A total of 82 docks are located in the port. 



Estimates of the throughput cargo handling capacity for the Port of Tampa 

 were developed for the Florida Waterport Systems Study (Florida Department of 

 Transportation 1978a). These estimates were based on port labor and equipment 

 productivity relationships (provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Fed- 

 eral Maritime Administration), an assumed 40-hr work week, and an annual 

 sustained berth occupancy of 50%. These capacity estimates tend to be conser- 

 vative and do not represent their maximum physical capacities. Estimates are 

 made on break bulk, dry bulk, liquid bulk, and general cargo categories of 

 shipments. Break bulk refers to cargo in a vessel that can be counted by unit 

 (e.g., tractors); dry bulk and liquid bulk refer to bulk cargo carried in 

 specially designed ships; and general cargo refers to any commodity shipped in 

 boxes, crates, or other packaging. Estimated throughput capacities for Tampa 

 in 1975 are shown in Table 1. 



Tampa's freight tonnage increased sharply in 1960-78 and it is now the 

 largest port on the west coast of Florida, if not for the State. In 1975, 

 Tampa's volume of waterborne commerce was 39,857,660 tons, about 49% of the 

 State total. A summary of the changes in annual port tonnage in 1960-78 is 

 shown in Table 2. Although the port has maintained a diversified mix of 

 general cargo, the largest percentage has been bulk cargo. In 1978, phosphate 

 was by far the greatest export (11.4 million tons), and petroleum products 

 were the primary imports (6.6 million tons). Because of the emphasis on bulk 

 cargo, conveyor belts and pipelines are the most important means of transport. 



Forecasts of general cargo, phosphate exports, and petroleum product 

 imports for the Port of Tampa were made by the Florida Waterport Systems Study 

 (Florida Department of Transportation 1978a). In general, these forecasts are 

 based upon the port's share of Florida waterborne commerce, annual growth 

 rates of cargo volumes in Florida and the United States, world economic 



28 



