Port Tampa Bay Partners for Seafarers Health

In addressing the health of seafarers – particularly during the pandemic, Port Tampa Bay has partnered with USF Health College of Nursing to create on-site nurse-managed clinical outreach for the thousands of seafarers whose global maritime routes take them through the port each year.

The collaboration will establish an on-site clinic in space currently leased by the Seafarer’s Ministries, to offer health and wellness services including spiritual and emotional support to international maritime workers aboard cargo ships

The college also plans to develop a global telehealth component that will allow practitioners to provide follow-up care to patients after they returned to their ship and are out to sea.

“These hardworking men and women often go more than a month before they can leave their ship and attend to their needs,” said Paul Anderson, Port Tampa Bay president and CEO. “The ability to receive high-quality medical care at our port will be potentially lifesaving.”

It will be the first clinic at a U.S. port that offers in-person and telehealth capabilities, according to Dr. Susan Perry, former Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs at the USF Health College of Nursing, who led development of the product.

The College of Nursing, the Seafarer’s Center, and the Port Tampa Bay plan to eventually expand the site to provide a nurse-managed primary care clinic to sthe entire Port community.

The USF Health College of Nursing has collaborated with Port Tampa Bay over the last three years, including helping to establish Covid-19 infection control mitigation standards at the port, offering best practices for port employees returning to work, and hosting two on-site clinics to administer Covid-19 vaccinations for Port employees and their families.


Port Fiscal Year

Port Tampa Bay recent reported its fiscal year 2020 results, showing positive results along its diversified cargo base.

Though operating revenue was down 13.6 percent to US$56.3 million, due to the loss of cruise business and lower petroleum use during the pandemic, container volumes jumped 33 percent to 141,030 TEUs, led by new Asian direct services to the port, including MSC.

General cargo improved 2 percent to 1.32 million tons, as breakbulk suppliers took advantage of the port’s expanded breakbulk terminal, which includes 8,000 linear feet of adjacent berthing. Despite the decline, petroleum remains the port’s largest commodity, along with dry cargo, as companies supply 43 percent of the Florida peninsula’s needs for gas and jet fuel through Port Tampa Bay.