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.
6 p.m. report:
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.
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.
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.
Andrew Hecker, the deputy director and chief financial officer of PortMiami since 2022, told commissioners that he had learned the property was for sale in 2024.
“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 about the need for an in-port facility.
TransMontaigne Partners first 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.
“They are going to build a condominium,” Morales said about the new buyer’s redevelopment plans on the 9.6-acre property.
Morales said the county is required to get an appraisal and negotiate a fair price before even filing for an eminent domain case in court.
“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.
Commission Chairman Anthony Rodriguez sponsored the legislative item for the discussion and introduced it on Wednesday for the special meeting.
“I feel like it could have been brought sooner,” Rodriguez said.
Commissioners René García 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.
“There is an impending closing that is going to happen anyway,” Higgins said.
Commissioner Eileen Higgins 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, and moving the tanks and the pipes will be costly.
“We need to take action today,” Higgins said.
Commissioner Oliver G. Gilbert said he was in support of using eminent domain to stop the sale and secure the property, and he moved a motion to do so that failed 6-6.
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.
After agreeing to several changes, Regalado moved a motion to allow the county to continue moving forward with negotiations for 31 days, to prepare for the possibility of eminent domain court proceedings, and for the item to be brought back to the commission on Oct. 9. The motion passed 7-4.
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