Inaugural Issues Summit a success
- By Martha HarbinJust two weeks ago we concluded the first of what we hope will be annual Florida Maritime Leadership Coalition Issues Summit. For our first time out, I think we can consider it a success; more than 100 registered to attend, we had a great line-up of subject-matter experts, and we had a number of great sponsors come forward to buy tables, not to mention the generosity of our title sponsors: The Port of Miami-Dade and the Florida Ports Council.
Regardless of the topic, speaker after speaker echoed a common theme; Florida's maritime industry must be united and involved in advocating consensus positions on the issues we currently face and will face in the future if our seaports are to remain competitive with seaports in neighboring states.
And the issues presented were-to put it mildly-sobering. We learned that only 30 percent of the goods consumed in Florida now flow through Florida's ports, a complete reversal of the trade figures reported in economic studies released in previous years. Instead, jobs and economic activity that should be Florida's is being enjoyed by ports in neighboring states.
We learned that our neighboring states have developed and are executing strategic intermodal infrastructure plans designed to provide direct ship to rail transfer from the huge post-Panamax ships that will be delivering cargo to the Gulf Coast and Eastern Seaboard once the widening of the Panama Canal is completed in a few shorts years. In contrast, the state of Florida swept the Department of Transportation trust funds to balance the budget resulting in cuts to infrastructure projects previously approved.
Furthermore, the state did not include seaports in its request to the federal government for transportation economic stimulus funds. Fortunately, some projects have been funded as a result of the port authorities applying directly to the feds for project funding.
Finally, we learned that after years of diverting funds from infrastructure improvement to security mandates and upgrades, ports will likely need to soon be required to invest hundreds of millions into environmental infrastructure designed to address climate change concerns. While we don't argue with the need to protect our environment, it does mean that ports will have to grapple with finding funds to for expensive infrastructure that does little to help our ports address infrastructure improvements to meet global trade demands.
The Florida Maritime Leadership Coalition was formed to help provide a united voice from the maritime industry to state and federal elected officials. But we can only do this with the support of the industry. Without a significant number of members, the coalition will not be able to continue and expand the capabilities that we have demonstrated over the past six months. Companies such as Seaboard Marine and the Port of Miami Terminal Operating Company have already stepped forward to help provide on-going funding, as has every seaport, company and individual who participated in the Summit.
But the proceeds of the Summit alone will not get us through the next year and there are many sectors of the maritime industry that are not yet represented in the coalition. If you are in a position to help promote membership in the coalition to an individual, organization or company, or to provide us with the opportunity to make a presentation, we hope that you will take a moment to do so.
We also welcome your feedback and comments about the Summit and the issues that you would like to learn about in greater detail at shorter, regional meetings in the coming year.
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