Port Canaveral

Port Canaveral
The Exploration Tower
Location
Country	United States
Location	Brevard County, Florida
Details
Opened	1953
Operated by	Port Canaveral
Statistics
Annual cargo tonnage	2,700,000 tons
Passenger traffic	3.9 million
Website Canaveral Port Authority

Port Canaveral is a cruise, cargo and naval port in Brevard County, Florida, United States. It is one of the busiest cruise ports in the world with 3.9 million cruise passengers passing through during 2014. As a deep water cargo port, it has a high volume of traffic. Over 3,000,000 short tons (2,700,000 t) of bulk cargo moves through each year. Common cargo includes cement, petroleum and aggregate. The port has conveyors and hoppers for loading products directly into trucks, and facilities for bulk cargo containers. The channel is about 44 feet (13 m) deep.

There is 750,000 square feet (70,000 m²) of covered freight storage capacity. It handled 4,000,000 short tons (3,600,000 t) of cargo in 2004. The port exports fresh citrus; bulk frozen citrus juice stored in one of the largest freezer warehouses in the state; cement and building materials. The port receives lumber, salt for water softening, automobiles, and steel sheet and plate. It transships items for land, sea, air and space. Port Canaveral's Foreign Trade Zone is among the largest general purpose FTZs in the nation - over 5 square miles (13 km²). The port boosts Brevard's economy by 1/2 billion dollars annually.

In April 2007, shipping was off 25.6% for the previous six months compared to the previous year, down to 295,965 short tons (268,495 t) per months. This had risen to 401,544 short tons (364,275 t) in August 2010.

Ten ships, on average, enter the port each day.

The Canaveral Port Authority was established in 1953 by the State Legislature and consists of the Board of Commissioners and the Executive Management Team. The Board sets policies such as fiscal, regulatory, and operations, while the executives are responsible for administrative and operational duties. In October, 2015 the board voted unanimously to terminate embattled CEO John Walsh. Walsh was brought down after clashing with residents over a controversial plan to build a cargo railway through a federally-mananged wildlife refuge. Walsh drew community outrage after calling opponents of his plan "Ludites" and "dogs chasing moving cars." Walsh was also caught up in a scandal, lying about documentation from the United States Air Force, related to building the Canaveral Rail through the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

The five Commissioners of the Board are elected from the surrounding area by popular vote. They must live in specific areas, but are elected by voters in all five districts. The races are partisan.