Mayport Cruise Ship Terminal Proposal

[Overstreet]

................something to consider would be "What to do with the dredging materials" if the Jaxport end of the St Johns is deepened? Perfect material to add area in that vicinity plus a "Cruise Terminal" could be installed in that area! ................

They have settlement areas along the river. Look at Google maps west of the intersection of the ICW and at the Dames Point bridge. Making the river smaller at Mayport with fill is a bad idea. It would only make the current faster and the channel narrower. 

[Ocklawaha]

...but thats just me! Mayport does not want a Cruise Terminal in their world and I can't blame them one bit!

Chief Joseph wasn't real keen on the Great Northern Railroad, Red Cloud and Three Bears must have loved the Santa Fe, while Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull protested the Union Pacific...  

Condense the terminal, stack it on top of parking, don't touch an inch of groud south of the main street, better the entry road, improve quality for retailers, restaurateurs, build a harbor for the shrimp fleet, See if the fences can be rolled back to clear the light house and save the few old historic buildings, by moving them across the road.


OCKLAWAHA

[Ocklawaha]

................something to consider would be "What to do with the dredging materials" if the Jaxport end of the St Johns is deepened? Perfect material to add area in that vicinity plus a "Cruise Terminal" could be installed in that area! ................

They have settlement areas along the river. Look at Google maps west of the intersection of the ICW and at the Dames Point bridge. Making the river smaller at Mayport with fill is a bad idea. It would only make the current faster and the channel narrower. 

According to a port authority spokesman, the jury is still out on exactly where the spoil will go, but he felt pretty certain that it would go on the island under the Broward Bridge/Dames Point. This is an island that holds some promise for future port expansion.


OCKLAWAHA

[CS Foltz]

Ock............I am refereeing to the area at the Dames Point region...........not adding in the Mayport area! There is no need to transport to the Mayport area when normal discharge is by piping and the piping can be semi-directed depending on angle in relation to the dredge itself.............if I remember correctly (been awhile since I have been on a dredge and that was a hopper style not a suction system which means really old style!) There appears to be, from my viewpoint, no need to base any Cruise Ship in Mayport when the same thing could take place in Dames Point! Before or after Dames Point take your pick........which ever is engineering and accessible easier, not to mention cost effective!

[BridgeTroll]

but he felt pretty certain that it would go on the island under the Broward Bridge/Dames Point.

if not mistaken that "island" is compiled of previous dredging of the river.

[CS Foltz]

BridgeTroll............I believe there are two Islands that were made from dredging.......one east and one west from the looks of it but have not made a water entry inspection...........just from looking from on the Blownapart on high and moving North.........one for sure, second not so sure! My point is east of the Dames Point Facility and the north side shore and built in the right location, no one would care how low the Bridge is since a Cruise Ship would not have to go under!

[Charles Hunter]

Are you talking about putting the Cruise Terminal on the east side of Dames Point facing Blount Island?
Looking at Google Maps, the tip of the Point is a bulk facility (sand, gravel, whatnot), north of that is the New Berlin residential area, and I think the Yellow Bluff fort site is there, too.  If it's not OK to mess with the Mayport residential area, why would it be OK to mess with New Berlin?  Then, continuing north, it looks like wetlands, some sort of container port in the middle of that channel, then the bridge connecting to the mainland. 

[reednavy]

I'd be all for dredging Mill Cove and using that as a cruise terminal, I've said it before. It is a good location, not even 2 miles from 9A, and convenient to get to.

[Charles Hunter]

Using the dredge island for the cruise terminal, or the residential areas along the south edge of Mill Cove?  If the island is used, it might be possible to drop ramps off the part of the Dames Point bridge after it crosses the Cove.  The island is an interesting idea ...

Just looked at Google Maps again - both CS's east Dames Point and reednavy's Mill Cove options are west of the JEA high voltage lines.  If memory serves, the clearance under them is about the same as under the Dames Point Bridge - or not much higher - and I heard somewhere that it would cost millions to make them higher.

[reednavy]

Either, but I'd be more for using the island.

[blizz01]

Uh-Oh! 

Savannah seeks cruise business, eyes Jacksonville’s Carnival Cruise Lines ship

Savannah is making a play to land a cruise ship and its city leaders are closely watching whether Jacksonville remains a homeport for Carnival Cruise Lines.
Savannah Alderman Tony Thomas said if Carnival stops sailing the Fascination ship  from Jacksonville in the future, Savannah would want to become the Fascination’s next homeport.
“We would definitely entertain them coming to Savannah,” he said. “I would be glad to talk with them about that personally.”
Savannah plans to hire a consultant to do a feasibility study this year on what it would cost to build a cruise terminal, how many passengers would sail from Savannah, and what economic benefits would come from year-round cruises. A task force has been studying the cruise business since last year.
Carnival has an agreement with the Jacksonville Port Authority through May 2011 to lease the port-owned cruise terminal located off Heckscher Drive, west of the Dames Point bridge. The cruise terminal is slated for demolition when a new cargo terminal is built for Hanjin Shipping. JaxPort officials have said the cruise terminal could be used by Carnival through 2012.
The port authority bought land in Mayport for a new cruise terminal, but in March 2009, the board shelved study of that proposal to concentrate on Hanjin and expanding cargo business. JaxPort officials say that sometime this year, they will revisit the long-term future of cruises.
“It’s a competitive world out there and Jacksonville as a whole needs to understand this is a business worth keeping,” said JaxPort spokeswoman Nancy Rubin.
Thomas said if the Fascination leaves Jacksonville, Savannah would want to have its cruise terminal built by then.
“We’re fast-tracking it,” he said. “We’ve got a tremendous amount of momentum rolling forward.”
He said the feasibility study would cost $100,000 to $200,000. The city of Savannah earmarked $50,000 for the study. State Sen. Lester Jackson of Savannah sought Gov. Sonny Perdue’s support for funding of the study. Perdue is “intrigued by the idea” but budget woes prevent funding new programs this year, said spokesman Bert Brantley.
Jackson said money from county government and the tourism bureau will go toward the study’s cost. Thomas said the city of Savannah could request proposals from consultants next month.
Jackson said Savannah is researching how the South Carolina State Ports Authority successfully pursued year-round cruises from Charleston. Carnival plans to start sailing from Charleston in May.
“We’re looking at what other states have done right, and we think Charleston is a good model,” he said.

http://jacksonville.com/business/2010-03-19/story/savannah_seeks_cruise_business_eyes_jacksonville%E2%80%99s_carnival_cruise_lines_s

[BridgeTroll]

Serves us right...

[Captain Zissou]

Serves us right...

Agreed.  This would be a non-issue if it weren't for a few shrimp boats and shacks.  We should have pushed this through 5 years ago.

[JeffreyS]

Will not be surprised if we lose this but I think we will get the deal done in the end.

[blizz01]

Hmm - wonder what prompted this:
JaxPort to restart consideration of cruise business in Mayport

Jacksonville Port Authority Board Chairman David Kulik said today JaxPort is ready to resume considering construction of a cruise terminal at Mayport.
In addition to looking at port-owned land in Mayport, he said two other sites located east of the Dames Point bridge will also get scrutiny as potential sites for a cruise terminal.
Kulik said those two sites have not been studied previously by the authority's staff. He declined to identify the locations.
A year ago, the authority's board shelved discussions of building a cruise terminal in Mayport and directed the agency's staff to concentrate on the cargo side of the port's business.
"Last year at this time, we were in a deep hole from a global economic standpoint, and now we're coming out of it," Kulik said.
Kulik said he will ask the board at Monday's meeting to direct the staff to restart review of the cruise terminal.
The existing terminal, which serves Carnival Cruise Lines, would be torn down to make way for construction of the planned Hanjin Shipping cargo terminal. Kulik said that demolition would probably occur in the second quarter of 2013.
Though the review will consider two other sites, Kulik said Mayport remains a strong candidate for the cruise terminal.
"Mayport is still an extremely viable location," he said.

http://jacksonville.com/business/2010-03-26/story/jaxport-restart-consideration-cruise-business-mayport