PORT EVERGLADES, FL (October 5, 2010) – The Broward County Commission has awarded a 10-year lease to SeaFreight Agencies as the first Port Everglades client to operate a cargo terminal on 25 acres of a new terminal yard that is scheduled to open in January.

SeaFreight currently operates eight container ships at Port Everglades with twice weekly fixed-day sailings to and from the Caribbean region, which is a key market for Port Everglades.  An 18-year customer of Port Everglades, SeaFreight achieved record-level performance in Fiscal Year 2009 (October 1, 2009 through September 30, 2010) and has seen its cargo throughput increase 89 percent since Fiscal Year 2004 at the Port.

“SeaFreight has a proven success record at Port Everglades with their shipping line, and now will have the opportunity to grow their business and presence in South Florida with their own cargo terminal,” said Port Everglades Director Phil Allen.

The guaranteed value of this agreement to Port Everglades, including rent, will increase over the 10-year lease period, growing from $2,410,000 to $4,129,163 annually.  Volume guarantees are expected to grow 23 percent higher than current cargo levels within the first six years.

SeaFreight terminal will be located in Southport on a portion of a new cargo yard that has been under construction since April 2009, generating an estimated 320 construction jobs.  The entire 41-acre project is expected to create 15 percent more capacity for containerized cargo at the Port.

This past year, SeaFreight marked two other milestones at Port Everglades.  Two of the line’s container ships, Stadt Rendsburg and MV Stadt Luneburg completed their 100th voyages to Port Everglades.  Built in 2004, both 1,100-TEU containerized cargo vessel have spent their entire working careers homeported at Port Everglades.  A TEU (20-foot equivalent units) is the standard unit of measurement for cargo containers.

Port Everglades is one of the nation’s leading container ports and a trade gateway to Latin America and Caribbean.  Port Everglades has direct access to the interstate highway system, is within two miles of the FEC rail hub and is just one mile from the Atlantic Shipping Lanes. Ongoing capital improvements and expansion ensure that Port Everglades will have the ability to handle future growth in container traffic. A world-class cargo handling facility, Port Everglades serves as an ideal point of entry for products shipped around the world.