PORT CANAVERAL, Fla. – Port Canaveral started its 2022-23 fiscal year with a record-setting budget plan, after ending its 2021-22 fiscal year with a cruise-disrupting hurricane, according to News 6 partner Florida Today.
Port commissioners unanimously approved a $153.96 million budget for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1.
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The port also projects a total of $76.76 million in combined profits and government capital grants for the current budget year.
The money will be used by the port for various capital projects — from upgrades to cruise and cargo berths to improvements to campground and fishing facilities.
“It is spread amongst many different projects,” Port Canaveral Chief Financial Officer Michael Poole said. “It’s across the board.”
Canaveral Port Authority Commissioner Wayne Justice said he is looking forward to the current budget year.
That’s after the 2019-20 and 2020-21 budget years were hampered by a COVID-19-related cruise industry shutdown that spanned 16½ months, from mid-March 2020 to the end of July 2021. Cruising started ramping up in the 2021-22 budget year, but took awhile to reach its pre-COVID passenger levels.
Looking to the 2022-23 budget year that just began, Justice said: “It’s the most robust (budget) we’ve ever had. I look forward to having a year with some money in our pocket to spend it the way it’s supposed to be spent.”
The overall projected operating revenue of $153.96 million for 2022-23 compares with estimated $122.31 million in revenue for the 2021-22 budget year that ended Sept. 30, which is the highest to date for the port. The 2022-23 revenue would be a 25.9% increase from 2021-22.
Final numbers for 2021-22 budget year haven’t been released. But for the first 11 months of the budget year, they totaled $116.62 million. That topped the previous record for a full year of operating revenue of $106.51 million in the 2018-19 budget year.
Cruise revenue — including from cruise ships and cruise-related parking — is estimated to be $124.48 million for 2022-23, up 32.1% from an estimated $94.25 million in the 2021-22 budget year.
Port Canaveral currently has 10 home-ported cruise ships, and will have a record 11 ships based there when the Carnival Magic begins a seasonal itinerary on Oct. 31.
The port reported 10 consecutive weeks this summer when it surpassed 100,000 passengers getting on or off its cruise ships.
“It’s been very, very strong on passenger traffic,” Port Canaveral Chief Executive Officer John Murray said.
Port Canaveral is the world’s second-busiest cruise port, based on passenger volume. Five cruise brands have ships based there — Carnival, Disney, MSC, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean.
Among other major Port Canaveral business sectors, for 2022-23:
- Cargo revenue is expected to be $18.57 million.
- Lease revenue is expected to be $4.50 million.
- Park and recreation revenue is expected to be $4.25 million.
Port Canaveral also finished a record fiscal year for cargo, with $12.8 million in cargo revenue through the first 11 months, with September still to be reported.
“Cargo’s been robust this year,” Murray said.
For example, in August alone, seven cargo ships discharged more than 100,000 tons of lumber at Port Canaveral, which will help support the Central Florida construction industry.
Other major contributors to cargo revenue at the port include petroleum, aggregates, slag, salt and fertilizer.
Hurricane Ian’s impacts
Hurricane Ian took a hit on Port Canaveral, shutting down the port for three days, starting at midnight Sept. 27, and canceling cruises of the Carnival Liberty, the Disney Wish, the MSC Divina and the Norwegian Getaway.
The port issued “shelter-in-place” orders for ships under 500 gross tons, but did not require them to evacuate, based on Ian’s approach, forecast and minimal surge threat to the port.
However, larger cruise ships were not allowed in the port during the hurricane, under orders of the U.S. Coast Guard.
When cruising resumed on Oct. 1, a record seven large cruise ships were in port at the same time. That included one cruise ship that docked at a cruise terminal to let off passengers, then was moved to what normally is a cargo berth so another cruise ship could use the same cruise terminal.
“We hot-seated that one (cruise) terminal with two ships in the same day,” Murray said.
Also in port that day was the Victory 1 gambling ship and a cargo ship delivering lumber.
The port suffered a variety of damage as a result of Ian, albeit not major damage.
Murray listed these as among the “minor terminal and facility damage” at the port caused by Ian:
- Ground transportation awning and lightning pole at Cruise Terminal 6.
- Canopies at Cruise Terminals 2 and 10.
- Minor erosion at North Cargo Berths 1 and 2 and at South Cargo Berth 4.
- Security fencing at North Cargo Berths 5 and 6.
- Damage to pier fencing and pavilion at Jetty Park.
- Floating dock damage at the Rodney Ketchum boat ramp.
- A large amount of vegetative debris.
- Minor shoaling near the sand trap in the port channel.
- Power outages in many areas of the port.
Port official say much of the damage already is repaired or in the process of being repaired.
The cruise terminal work will await bids from contractors.
Dealing with the channel shoaling awaits coordination with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Murray said the shoaling does not affect port operations.
Port officials say they do not have an estimate of the total cost of the Ian-related damage.
The port will be working with its insurance carrier to recover some of the repair expenses.
“Fortunately for us, it was a relatively minor event,” Murray said.
Matheny remembered
The Canaveral Port Authority started its Oct. 5 with a moment of silence for former Port Canaveral Commissioner Joe Matheny, who died Aug. 30 at age 86.
Matheny served on the commission for District 2 from 1997 to 2012.
He also was a Titusville attorney, practicing law for more than 60 years. He acted as general counsel for several local institutions, including Brevard Community College (38 years), First Federal Savings and Loan (20 years), Florida National Bank (15 years), Jess Parrish Memorial Hospital (20 years) and the King Center for the Performing Arts (25 years).
Before his retirement, Matheny was an active member and director of the Titusville and Cocoa Beach chambers of commerce, the Propeller Club, the Civilian Military Council, the Canaveral Lighthouse and Keep Brevard Beautiful.
Durign the Vietnam War, Matheny served as as an officer in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, and retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Canaveral Port Authority Chairman Jerry Allender called Matheny “a visionary” who worked diligently to encourage the growth of the port “to the status that it is today.”
“He always had the port’s best interests in mind,” Allender said.
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