Cruise lines need cast iron certainty on the immediate future of fuel supply at the world’s cruise capital.
Speaking for the industry at a recent meeting of the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners, Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason Liberty says the recent sale of the Fisher Island fuel depot near PortMiami highlights many concerns for the short term future of cruising.
Fisher Island Fuel Depot Recently Sold
While fuel supply has remained uninterrupted, there has been no guarantees offered, going forward. The new owners have other plans for the Fisher Island facility. Liberty stressed that it is essential that there is no interruption in fuel supply, in the short term at least.
“If there’s another place to put the facility, that’s wonderful, whether it’s on the port or not. The issue for us at hand is the certainty element,” he said.
“Even if we identify land, the amount of time it will take for the permitting, the building, it’s not 24 months,” Liberty said. “In the short to mid-term, without that fuel farm, it’s pretty tough to certify certainty that the fuel is going to be available to us.”
Miami-Dade County has been discussing alternative options for several weeks. All except one of these would require years to come to fruition. PortMiami has a fuel supply agreement with Fisher Island terminal until 2027.
The other more immediate option would be to negotiate a purchase of the fuel depot. If that fails, the Commissioners have already discussed the possibility of an eminent domain compulsory purchase order.
Liberty said the cruise industry is open to all options but on the understanding that there is no disruption to the fuel supply. He was addressing the commissioners on behalf of the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA alongside representatives from Carnival Corp; MSC Cruises, NCL and Virgin Voyages.
Speaking on the issue when the sale of Fisher Island was imminent in September, Liberty said: “No major US home port operates without fuel bunkering. If the Port of Miami were to lose this capability, the consequences would be severe.”
Last month, the Commissioners agreed a motion to continue discussions for a month with the new owners over acquiring the site, a period which is set to expire this week.
