Petroleum distributer extends contract with Port Manatee for 25 years

PALMETTO — TransMontaigne Terminals LLC recently received approval to extend its operations on a 28.41-acre port tract at Port Manatee through May 2046. 

The Denver-based company’s renewed agreement is slated to take effect May 1. The Manatee County Port Authority gave the final approval with the option for a further 25-year extension. TransMontaigne Terminals has been operating at Port Manatee since 1970, according to a statement. 

“Port Manatee is pleased to extend its valued relationship with longtime tenant TransMontaigne for at least another quarter of a century – or for 50 more years if the lease option is exercised,” chairman of the Manatee County Port Authority Reggie Bellamy says in a press release. “This lease renewal is good news for motorists throughout our region and furthers the significant favorable impacts Port Manatee has upon Southwest and Central Florida.”

According to the release, TransMontaigne transports petroleum products throughout an 11-county region from the Port Manatee terminal.

Port Manatee, in Palmetto, north Manatee County, is the closest U.S. deepwater seaport to the Panama Canal. It has 10 40-foot-draft berths that serve container, bulk, breakbulk, heavy lift, project and general cargo customers. The port is self-sustaining and generates more than $3.9 billion in economic impacts each year. It also provides more than 27,000 direct and indirect jobs.