Ferries to Cuba could open doors for Tampa

Ferries to Cuba could open doors for Tampa
Jamal Thalji, Times Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 6, 2015 8:47pm

TAMPA — The U.S. government's decision this week to allow ferries to
take people to Cuba and back could open two doors for the Tampa Bay region.

First, Tampa would be a natural home port for ferry service to Cuba once
that nation agrees to receive U.S. ferries. The city has a large
Cuban-American population and strong ties to the island nation. Many see
it as the future center of U.S. relations with Cuba.

"We all know that Port Tampa Bay is basically a straight line to
Havana," Tampa City Council member Yvonne Yolie Capin said.

Second, it would introduce a brand new transportation industry to the
bay area. Passenger ferries are used widely around the world, and some
believe the ferry business could one day take off in the United States —
and especially in Tampa.

United Caribbean chairman and CEO Bruce Nierenberg has spent years
trying to establish a ferry network in the Caribbean. He hopes to one
day launch service from Tampa to Cuba and Mexico.

"The degree of unawareness about the ferry industry is rampant in the
U.S.," he said. "When people understand how much fun it is, it's going
to be a huge industry and Tampa will be in the middle of it."

The Tampa Port Authority is well-positioned to receive ferries because
it can handle passenger vessels. It has cruise port terminals, customs
services and security protocols already in place.

"It's our understanding that both nations have to authorize the
service," port spokesman Edward Miyagishima said. "When that happens,
the port will be extremely well-positioned to serve as a gateway."

Patrick Allman, who sits on the port's governing board, was enthusiastic
about the prospects of ferry service from Tampa to Cuba and elsewhere.
He said ferries are being incorporated into the agency's strategic plan
for the future of Port Tampa Bay.

"They're an absolute component," Allman said. "We believe we're going to
be in the ferry business, and we're looking at multiple locations where
we can put them."

Ferries could also be an important backstop for the uncertain future of
Tampa's cruise ship industry.

The massive cruise ships of the future won't be able to pass under the
Sunshine Skyway bridge to reach the cruise terminals in downtown Tampa.

The more mega-ships that come on line in the decades to come, the less
likely cruise companies will still use the kinds of ships that can sail
Tampa Bay.

But passenger ferries — overnight ferries with staterooms that could
hold up to 1,500 passengers — will have no problem sailing beneath the
bay's iconic bridge.

Allman doesn't see the cruise industry ever disappearing from Tampa, but
as fewer cruise ships are able to dock there, ferries could make up for
that lost economic output.

"I think Tampa will be a player in a ferry system that serves the
Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico," he said.

The U.S. Departments of Treasury and Commerce on Tuesday authorized a
handful of American companies to send ferries to Cuba. But those ferry
operators also need the assent of Cuban authorities. That government
must also decide where they can dock and how frequently.

But Nierenberg believes those decisions will be made in a matter of months.

"Until the arrangements are completed and arranged with the Cuban
government, no one can say what schedules they will use or what ports
they can use," he said. "It'll be frustrating for another 30 to 60 days."

President Barack Obama has eased travel restrictions and improved
relations with Cuba in recent months. But the five-decade U.S. embargo
still prohibits Americans from visiting Cuba as tourists or doing
business there. Travel is limited to cultural, educational and
humanitarian purposes, and cargo is limited to food and medicine.

Two authorized ferry operators have expressed interest in establishing
Tampa-to-Cuba service: United Caribbean and Havana Partners.

Baja Ferries USA vice president Joe Hinson, whose company also got a
ferry license from the United States, said it is more focused on the
Port of Miami and Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale.

"The reason Tampa is not one of the first choices is strictly because of
the logistics," Hinson said. "It would be a much longer crossing than it
would be to Miami."

Miami would be two hours closer to Cuba than Tampa, but both trips
require an overnight voyage. Ferries would depart Florida in the evening
and arrive in Cuba early the next morning.

But travel by ferry might be more popular than flying, because operators
say it would be cheaper. Hinson estimated that a round-trip ferry ticket
could cost around $250, about half of what airfare to Cuba can cost.

Cuban-Americans also fly to Cuba bearing heavy packages for relatives.
But ferry operators say they would charge much less to transport that cargo.

Times researcher John Martin contributed to this report. Contact Jamal
Thalji at thalji@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3404. Follow @jthalji.

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