Manatee County and state officials moved to distance themselves from a proposed private cruise ship terminal near the Sunshine Skyway Bridge as opposition intensified and questions mounted over potential impacts.
At a Manatee County Board of County Commissioners meeting Jan. 27, Commissioner Mike Rahn, who chairs the Seaport Manatee Port Authority, said the port had no involvement with the cruise port project and had not communicated with the developers.
Developers are exploring the construction of a cruise terminal south of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge near Terra Ceia, on the 328-acre Knott-Cowen tract, a largely undeveloped stretch of shoreline along Tampa Bay. The site lies near Rattlesnake Key, a 710-acre barrier island long viewed by conservation advocates as environmentally sensitive.
The proposal is being advanced by SSA Marine, a global marine terminal operator, in conjunction with Tampa-based Slip Knott LLC.
Developers have said the terminal would be privately financed and designed to accommodate cruise ships unable to pass beneath the Skyway to reach Port Tampa Bay.
“The seaport has nothing to do with a private entity wanting to build any type of cruise terminal here in Manatee County,” Rahn said.
He also said port officials share concerns raised by residents, including issues with navigational safety and environmental impacts associated with increased vessel traffic in Tampa Bay.
Rahn’s comments followed recent state legislative debate over a proposal to restructure the port authority.
That legislation, sponsored by state Rep. Bill Conerly, R-Lakewood Ranch, has been withdrawn and, in a joint statement, state Sen. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, and Rep. Will Robinson Jr., R-Bradenton, said, “While HB 4073 has no direct relationship to a cruise terminal, there are concerns about proposed changes to control and jurisdiction at this critical time. Therefore, we believe it is prudent to pause and withdraw the local bill from further consideration this legislative session and allow for continued dialogue with all stakeholders.”
Boyd and Robinson also pushed back against the proposed cruise terminal, questioning whether the site could safely accommodate large cruise ships and whether projected economic benefits would justify impacts.
In a Jan. 23 Facebook post, Robinson, who, due to term limits, is not eligible to seek reelection in the fall, said he could not envision “a worse place” for a cruise ship terminal, calling the Terra Ceia and Rattlesnake Key area fundamentally incompatible with large-scale cruise operations and warning that the project would permanently alter the character of the region.
Boyd has described the site as among the region’s most ecologically sensitive stretches of coastline and said a cruise port would be incompatible with the location.
The cruise port project is at a preliminary, conceptual stage. The developers submitted a pre-application request to the county, a preliminary step that allows staff to review a concept and provide feedback before any formal filings.
Any cruise terminal would require environmental permits from state and federal agencies, along with rezoning approvals and infrastructure reviews.
As of Jan. 30, no formal applications had been filed.
Meanwhile, a Change.org petition opposing a cruise ship port was circulating at www.change.org/p/stop-manatee-county-from-building-a-cruise-ship-port-on-rattle-snake-key.
Also, a rally to oppose a possible cruise ship port will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 14, at Seabreeze Park, 55 Horseshoe Loop, Terra Ceia.