Page 45 - South Mississippi Living - July, 2020

DID YOU KNOW?
• The Port of Gulfport is a deep-water, international seaport with more than 100 trading partners worldwide.
• Annually, the Port handles around 329 deep draft vessels, as well as more than 2.5 million tons of cargo and 225,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit).
• The Port has a total of 10 tenants including industries such as shipbuilding, manufacturing, tourism, education and cargo operations, all together making the Port of Gulfport one of the most diversi ed ports in the industry.
• The Port’s central location bene ts our Nation’s military by serving as one of the 17 Strategic Seaports in the United States.
• As a key gateway for Central America, the Port of Gulfport is the second largest green fruit import facility in the United States.
• If you took the number of bananas that go through the port on an annual basis they could circle the world 22 times.
• The Port’s channel is 300 feet wide and has a federally authorized depth of 37 feet.
story by Victoria Snyder
photo courtesy of Port of Gulfport
As such an economic resource to the Gulf Coast and the nation, it only makes sense that the Port of Gulfport would have a large impact on the blue economy along the Gulf Coast in many ways as well. While there is no standard de nition of “blue economy,” it is generally accepted that it is all economic actions that use the ocean, sea, coasts, and their resources. Many also focus on the importance of sustainably using the environment and all of its o erings.
“The value of Mississippi’s blue economy is immeasurable. We pride ourselves on being an economic development engine through job creation
and seeking opportunities for more private-public partnerships,” Aguillard adds. “Through the port’s partnership with The University of Southern Mississippi, we have been able to develop a roadmap that will build new capacity for Mississippi’s Blue Economy.”
From serving as home port for USM’s R/V Point Sur, to the Marine Research Center and now the Roger F. Wicker Center for Ocean Enterprise, which broke ground in November 2019, the port’s e orts will bolster the region’s blue economy and create a unique maritime technology environment for the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
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