Created: 4/10/2009 12:10:22 PM 
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- As Florida Senator Bill Nelson toured the 735-acre Blount Island terminal Friday morning, Jaxport Chief Rick Ferrin briefed him on the need for more federal dollars to deepen the St. Johns River in order to accommodate larger ships.
"And with that we can advertise fifty feet at high tide, which makes us a post-Panamax player," said Ferrin.
"That means, as a post-Panamax player, we're accessible to the ships that today are not calling on the East Coast and will not call on the East Coast until the Panama Canal opens."
New locks are being built in the Panama Canal to accommodate those post-Panamax -- or super ships -- from Asia that carry 6,000 to 11,000 containers.
Senator Nelson asked Ferrin about the economic impact to the region if such large ships were to be able to come into Jaxport.
"How much additional employment and additional dollar impact on the Jacksonville area?" asked the Senator.
"The numbers that we have right now indicate that we would probably have 12,000 additional jobs with an additional impact of two to three billion dollars a year" said Ferrin.
Senator Nelson says he will ask the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the money to dredge and deepen the last five miles of the St. Johns to a depth of 41 feet.
"And I will be making that request for $15 million for fiscal year 10," said Senator Nelson.
And the hope is even more federal dollars will be available down the road.
"Over the next several years we'll be requesting on behalf of Jaxport to get that depth (48 feet) all the way down to handle these super ships," said Senator Nelson.
The goal is to deepen to a depth of 48 feet, and in doing so, Jaxport officials and Senator Nelson say our future would be bright.
"What you are seeing is the future of Jacksonville's economy. This is the potential explosion of Jacksonville's economy, blossom forth in a huge way!"
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