The Port of Palm Beach is located in Riviera Beach, Florida

Riviera Beach, Florida

Riviera Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, U.S.A. which was incorporated September 29, 1922. Because of where its eastern boundary lies, it is also the easternmost municipality in the South Florida metropolitan area. The population was 29,884 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the...

, in Palm Beach County

Palm Beach County, Florida

Palm Beach County is the largest county in the state of Florida in total area, and third in population. As of 2010, the county's estimated population was 1,320,134, making it the twenty-eighth most populous in the United States...

. The Port is an independent taxing district, with a five-member board of commissioners elected at large by voters within the district. The Port district covers a land area of 971 square miles (2,514.9 km²) or approximately fifty percent of the Palm Beach County area. The port is administered by an Executive Director and professional staff of 59 full time employees.

The Port of Palm Beach is located 80 miles (128.7 km) north of Miami

Miami, Florida

Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...

 and 135 miles (217.3 km) south of Port Canaveral. The 300 feet (91.4 m) wide ship channel

Channel (geography)

In physical geography, a channel is the physical confine of a river, slough or ocean strait consisting of a bed and banks.A channel is also the natural or human-made deeper course through a reef, sand bar, bay, or any shallow body of water...

 and 1,100 by 1400 feet (426.7 m) turning basin are in Lake Worth

Lake Worth Lagoon

The Lake Worth Lagoon is a lagoon located in Palm Beach County, Florida. It runs parallel to the coast, and is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by barrier beaches, including Palm Beach Island. The lagoon is connected to the Atlantic Ocean by two permanent, man-made inlets.-Geography:Lake Worth...

, and connect to the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

 through the Lake Worth Inlet

Lake Worth Inlet

The Lake Worth Inlet is an artificial cut through a barrier island connecting the northern part of the Lake Worth Lagoon in Palm Beach County, Florida with the Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered by the town of Palm Beach on the south, and by the town of Palm Beach Shores to the north. The inlet is also...

. The nominal depth at mean low water of the channel and turning basin is 32 feet (9.8 m). The Port has three slips, four marginal wharves

Wharf

A wharf or quay is a structure on the shore of a harbor where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.Such a structure includes one or more berths , and may also include piers, warehouses, or other facilities necessary for handling the ships.A wharf commonly comprises a fixed...

 and two roll-on/roll-off ramps

RORO

Roll-on/roll-off ships are vessels designed to carry wheeled cargo such as automobiles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, trailers or railroad cars that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels...

, and a cruise terminal.

The Port of Palm Beach is the fourth busiest container

Containerization

Containerization is a system of freight transport based on a range of steel intermodal containers...

 port in Florida and the eighteenth busiest in the continental United States. In addition to intermodal

Intermodal freight transport

Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of freight in an intermodal container or vehicle, using multiple modes of transportation , without any handling of the freight itself when changing modes. The method reduces cargo handling, and so improves security, reduces damages and...

 capacity, the Port is a major nodal point for the shipment of bulk

Bulk cargo

Bulk cargo is commodity cargo that is transported unpackaged in large quantities. This cargo is usually dropped or poured, with a spout or shovel bucket, as a liquid or as a mass of relatively small solids , into a bulk carrier ship's hold, railroad car, or tanker truck/trailer/semi-trailer body...

 sugar

Sugar

Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...

, molasses

Molasses

Molasses is a viscous by-product of the processing of sugar cane, grapes or sugar beets into sugar. The word molasses comes from the Portuguese word melaço, which ultimately comes from mel, the Latin word for "honey". The quality of molasses depends on the maturity of the sugar cane or sugar beet,...

, cement

Cement

In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...

, utility fuels, water, produce

Produce

Produce is a generalized term for a group of farm-produced goods and, not limited to fruits and vegetables . More specifically, the term "produce" often implies that the products are fresh and generally in the same state as where they were harvested. In supermarkets the term is also used to refer...

 and breakbulk items. With the exception of the spiced rum brand, all Cruzan Rum is shipped from St. Croix to the Port of Palm Beach to be bottled.

In Fiscal Year 2005 (October, 2004 through September, 2005), the Port of Palm Beach served 2,441 ships carrying more than 1.1 million short tons in approximately 120,000 containers each inbound and outbound, more than 4 million short tons of breakbulk, bulk and dry cargo, and more than 550,000 cruise passengers.

In 2010, Celebration Cruise Line

Celebration Cruise Line

Celebration Cruise Line is a budget cruise line that operates 2 day voyages out of Port of Palm Beach to Freeport, Bahamas. The company was founded sometime in late 2008, and began operations on March 9, 2009. The cruise line took over the operations of Imperial Majesty Cruise Line, which was part...

 Opened a 2-day cruise, every other day, to the Bahamas from the Port of Palm Beach using the nearly new passenger terminal.