Despite mounting political opposition to a proposed cruise port in Manatee County — which as of last month now includes Florida’s governor — the company pursuing the project hasn’t said whether it’s still moving forward.
Gov. Ron DeSantis last month joined state Sen. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, at a news conference to sign a bill into law that they have signaled would deal a death blow to the port.
The measure included a provision from Boyd that clarifies dredging restrictions around the Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve, a vibrant ecosystem surrounding the 328-acre coastal property that leading cruise terminal operator SSA Marine is eyeing for the proposed port.
The language of the measure is similar to what already exists in Florida law, but Boyd’s intent was clear: Stop the port in its tracks. He celebrated the governor’s signature as a way to “protect that area for generations to come.”
But if the port proposal is dead, the company hasn’t said so.
Since the bill was signed March 19, the Tampa Bay Times has sent multiple emails, text messages and voicemails to company representatives asking what comes next. On March 24, SSA Marine spokesperson Sally Dee said the company “has no comment to share at this time.” Follow-up requests for comment have gone unanswered.
The company’s silence is not exclusive to reporters. It also hasn’t communicated to local and state leaders who represent the coastal Manatee County area where the port could be built.
“At this time, the County has not had any formal communication with the company” following the bill signing last month, a spokesperson for Manatee County said in a statement to the Times on Monday.
A spokesperson for Boyd also said they haven’t heard from SSA Marine, and neither has state Rep. Will Robinson Jr., a Bradenton Republican.
“They haven’t reached out. I don’t know anything about their future plans,” Robinson said in an interview Thursday.
Manatee County Commissioner Tal Siddique, who represents the quiet Terra Ceia community that last month gathered by the hundreds to oppose the port, said he’s in the same boat.
“I haven’t heard from anyone remotely related to SSA Marine,” Siddique said in an interview. “It’s hard to tell what to make of it.”
Several key questions remain. For one: What happens with Rattlesnake Key? SSA Marine recently acquired the 710-acre mangrove island through its subsidiary, the Rattlesnake Key Preservation Co. The $18 million purchase of the property was completed in October.
Below: See the location of the proposed cruise port site relative to Rattlesnake Key.
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SSA Marine has made public promises that while it aimed to develop a port across the 328-acre property to the northeast of Rattlesnake Key, it would permanently conserve the key itself.
Previous efforts to sell Rattlesnake Key for protection had fallen short. In 2022, for example, lawmakers set aside $23 million to buy it, and the county chipped in another $3 million. Talks fizzled after a state appraisal came in just north of $7 million — far less than the proposed purchase price.
In 2024, state lawmakers set aside $8 million to buy Rattlesnake, with Manatee County poised to add local funding. Those negotiations fell apart when the property owners believed the land was worth more, Boyd has previously said.
While specifics about the port proposal have largely remained scarce, records show the private landowner that SSA is working with, Slip Knott LLC, began early development talks with Manatee County officials Jan. 16.
The project team said it wanted to rezone the coastal 328-acre tract to industrial land to allow for construction that may take up to five years, records obtained by the Times show.
Geoff Click isn’t convinced that the fight against development near the Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve — whether a deepwater port or something else — is over.
The Terra Ceia resident is particularly concerned about a section of Boyd’s amendment that keeps the door open for dredging to create “marinas, public boat ramps, piers, and docks” if it’s found that those projects don’t harm the preserve’s health.
Siddique has said that the county’s natural resources staff has been working to obtain material from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to create land for a boat ramp near the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge, and Boyd’s amendment clarifies that the project could be permitted.
Click isn’t letting his guard down either way.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen, there’s probably some strategic play here,” said Click, who is also the spokesperson for People Protecting Terra Ceia Preserve, a grassroots group that organized rallies against the port proposal.
“I hope the cruise port is dead. But there’s a lot of things that could still hurt the preserve: a data center, an apartment complex, a marina,” Click said.
“We don’t want to see any development.”
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