FLORIDA CRUISE LINES OPPOSE PORT SECURITY FEE INCREASES

Oct 1, 2005 12:00 PM

Whether major cruise companies should shoulder the burden of rising security costs at Florida's ports has become a heated issue.

The Port of Miami wants to charge cruise companies $1.50 for every passenger who boards a ship in Miami to help pay for federal regulations intended to prevent terrorism after the Sept. 11 attacks, The Miami Herald reports.

But the cruise companies say the federal government should pay instead. The issue is not limited to Florida. Similar surcharges have won approval in South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Texas and Oregon.

Security costs at the Port of Miami have risen 285 percent since Sept. 11, leaving it with a shortfall of $5 million. The port also seeks to charge cargo operators 29 cents a ton to cover the shortfall, but the fight has been with the cruise lines.

“Nobody likes to pay for the expense, but it's there, and somebody has to pay for it,” Phil Allen, the interim director of Port Everglades, says. “The reality is, the federal government says there is no money available.”

Directors of 13 deep-water ports in the state, including South Florida's, met in June to develop a unified response to rising security costs. They agreed 10-1, with two abstaining, to impose fees of at least $1 for every cruise passenger and $2 for every container box that passes through their ports, beginning no later than Jan. 1.

The International Council of Cruise Lines, an Arlington, Va.-based trade group, has paired with the American Association of Port Authorities to lobby for more federal money.

“We've never objected to paying our fair share; however, we object to paying more than our fair share,” ICCL President Michael Crye told the newspaper.

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