MIAMI — During a special meeting on Thursday, Miami-Dade County commissioners focused on the source of fuel for ships at PortMiami: A privately-owned large-scale bunker with an agreement until 2027 that is in the middle of a sale.
Denver-based TransMontaigne Partners announced earlier this year that the Fisher Island Terminal, which has a fuel bunker with a capacity for more than 672,650 barrels of marine fuel storage, had sold to an unnamed buyer for $180 million.
Jason Liberty, the president and chief executive officer of the Miami-based Royal Caribbean Group, told commissioners that the proposed sale and potential repurposing of this facility is a threat.
“No major U.S. home port operates without fuel bunkering. If the Port of Miami were to lose this capability, the consequences would be severe,” said Liberty, who represented the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association, a group of cruise line executives.
Members of the International Longshoremen’s Association stood before the commission asking the county to keep the facility. Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said 340,000 jobs are on the line, and she asked the commission to allow her administration to acquire the property.
“Other cruise ports actually have facilities on port ... All Florida cruise ports have fuel,” Frederick Wong, the deputy director of PortMiami, said during the meeting.
Levine Cava said that with the commission’s authorization, her administration would consider either eminent domain, the government’s power to take over private property, or a negotiated transaction.
“Obviously, you can’t have ships without fuel, and we have been dependent upon this fuel farm for many, many years,” Levine Cava said outside of the meeting. “And when it became apparent that maybe this property would be sold for another purpose, we have to step up.”
James Ferraro, of the Fisher Island Community Association, said over 800 families live on the island, and the removal of the fuel tanks has been an ongoing concern for several decades, so they welcomed the Chicago-based HRP Group’s plan for rezoning for residential use and an environmental cleanup.
“We do not support anything that keeps the tanks there,” Ferraro told commissioners.
Commissioner Raquel A. Regalado said the county needs to buy the property, PortMiami needs to look at other sites, and she doesn’t recommend a long-term lease.
“I don’t think that this is the long-term home of this facility,” Regalado said.
Andrew Hecker, the deputy director and chief financial officer of PortMiami since 2022, said he learned the property was for sale in 2024. Commission Chairman Anthony Rodriguez, who represents the county’s District 10, sponsored the legislative item for the discussion and introduced it on Wednesday.
“I feel like it could have been brought sooner,” Rodriguez said.
TransMontaigne Partners announced the closing was “on or about” June 30, 2026. In August, The RealDeal reported the sale was closing on Sept. 30. Jimmy Morales, the chief operating officer for Miami-Dade County, said he anticipated the closing to be sometime in the next four weeks, and the buyers are agreeing to remove the fuel tanks.
“They are going to build a condominium,” Morales said about the new buyer’s redevelopment plans on the 9.6-acre property.
Commissioner Oliver G. Gilbert said he was in support of using eminent domain to stop the sale. Morales said the county is required to get an appraisal and negotiate a fair price before filing for eminent domain.
“The industry has agreed to potentially advance payments,” Morales said about the resources available to buy the property, which also include the port’s reserves.
Commissioner Eileen Higgins agreed with Gilbert and said the issue presents a “huge risk” to the county’s economy, because if the sale goes through, the new buyer may not be interested in selling the property.
“We need to take action today,” Higgins said.
Commissioners René Garcia and Danielle Cohen Higgins said they were against eminent domain and wanted to explore other possibilities. Cohen Higgins said she wants to get more information and hear testimony from the property owner.
Watch the public meeting
Copyright 2025 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.
