WATCH: Mac McLouth Talks About How Short-Sea Shipping Can Benefit Port Canaveral and Brevard Community

By  //  May 15, 2018

SHORT-SEA SHIPPING REDUCES TRAFFIC ON OUR HIGHWAYS, IS DEPENDABLE AND EFFICIENT

ABOVE VIDEO: High atop Port Canaveral’s Exploration Tower, Malcolm “Mac” McLouth discusses the business of cargo at Port Canaveral and how short-sea shipping can benefit Port Canaveral and the Central Florida Region.

BREVARD COUNTY • PORT CANAVERAL FLORIDA – Mac McLouth, a leader in the growth of Port Canaveral, discusses ways that short-sea shipping can increase cargo into the port, lessening interstate road gridlock and other benefits.

“One of the major issues facing business today is the timely transportation of goods”, said McLouth.

“Many businesses rely on a steady flow of shipping and receiving goods and materials, with trucking and/or rail playing a major role in the delivery. But as interstate and rail traffic congestion grows worse we need to seek better ways to keep the flow moving in central Florida. Our port can be a major player in this solution.”

A federal transportation study shows that by the year 2020, the average speed on high-volume stretches of Interstate 95 will be just 23 miles per hour. What will the escalating transportation gridlock and the increasing costs do to our commerce and quality of life here in central Florida?

McLouth suggests that the growth of short- sea shipping could help alleviate highway and railyard gridlock, ensure reliable shipping and receiving, reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil and help central Florida’s position as a global leader.

HISTORY OF PORT CANAVERAL: Mac McLouth Leads Port Canaveral Into Its Second DecadeRelated Story:
HISTORY OF PORT CANAVERAL: Mac McLouth Leads Port Canaveral Into Its Second Decade

WHAT IS SHORT-SEA SHIPPING?

Short-sea shipping uses coastal ocean routes and inland waterways to move cargo. Bulk cargo like liquid petroleum already uses short-sea shipping to some extent.

“Tug barges are now used in short-sea shipping in a number of industries, but are not suitable for some types of cargo and are too slow for longer hauls,” said McLouth.

“Bulk cargo ships are likewise limited in their flexibility due to deep draft restrictions and specialized ship design. One way that short-sea shipping will be able to compete time-wise with land-based transport is by the use of high-speed roll-on roll-off vessels, capable of doing speeds up to 30 knots.”

“The Florida peninsula is surrounded by a “blue highway” with shallow draft inland waterways making short-sea shipping a viable alternative. Florida has 14 deep water ports, many with non-congested facilities and/or room for growth. Central Florida is really in an enviable position to take advantage of short-seas shipping routes by using waterways on both east and west coasts – to create a dependable form of delivery – even when the roads are closed or overcrowded.”

Benefits of short-sea shipping:

  • Facilitates transportation expansion
  • Opportunity for central Florida due to blue highway and inland waterways
  • Reduction on dependence on foreign oil.
  • Reduction in air pollution
  • Economic stimulation and job creation
  • Faster deployment of military equipment
  • New transport alternative
  • Future cost reductions

CLICK HERE TO SEE A COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF SHORT-SEA SHIPPING USING MATHEMATICAL MODELING

CLICK HERE TO SEE A STUDY ON SHORT-SEA SHIPPING BY THE U.S DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. 

VIDEO: Mac McLouth Driving Force For Progress of Port Canaveral For More Than 50 Years

CANAVERAL PORT AUTHORITY DISTRICT 5 CANDIDATE: Malcolm “Mac” MMcLouth, a driving force of the progress of Port Canaveral since the 1970s, has served as a port commissioner nine times and as the CEO for four years. McLouth, a civil engineer, has devoted a large part of his career to the creation and advancement of Port Canaveral and is now running again for the District 5 seat.

In 1953, when United States Senator Spessard Holland helped to dedicate Port Canaveral, he called it “our nation’s port for inner and outer space.”

At that time, the Port was in its infancy and a shadow of what it is today, but visionaries such as Malcolm “Mac” McLouth have made Holland’s optimistic words a reality.

For more than 50 years, McLouth has made it his life’s mission to shape Port Canaveral into the nation’s port, and he has done at an excellent job in transforming Port Canaveral from a sleepy cargo port into a powerhouse destination for cruise ship passengers, as well as the go-to port for cargo in Central Florida.

With more than 4 million cruise ship passengers a year, Port Canaveral is now the second busiest port in the world and McLouth is confident that in five years it can surpass Miami’s five million passengers to garner the Number One spot.

McLouth knows what he is talking about since he has served on the port commission nine times, a figure he would like to make an even 10.

He is running as Republican candidate for Port Canaveral’s District 5, which encompasses the municipalities of Cape Canaveral, Cocoa Beach and Merritt Island, but is a district-wide vote.

At the opening of the Port Canaveral channel into the Atlantic Ocean by Jetty Park now sits one of the most-loved features of the facility, the 1,200-foot Malcolm E. McLouth Fishing Pier, named in Mac’s honor in 1995.

McLouth’s admiration for and dedication to the Port and its environs began in 1966, when as a Boy Scout leader he led his troop on a weekend camping trip to the recently opened Jetty Park.

“I remember being so impressed with the beauty and serenity of the place,” he said. “Being an engineer and working as I did in growth and development, I thought it would be wonderful if we could find a way to ensure that this place could escape development and always be kept as a park for people to use.”

A recent transplant at the time, in 1962 he had moved to Brevard from Minneapolis when Pam American recruited the civil engineer as superintendent of industrial hygiene, in charge of monitoring the effects of toxins and pollution.

FOR MORE THAN 50 YEARS, Malcolm “Mac” McLouth, above left, with President George H.W. Bush, has made it his life’s mission to shape Port Canaveral into the nation’s port, and he has done at an excellent job in transforming Port Canaveral from a sleepy cargo port into a powerhouse destination for cruise ship passengers, as well as the go-to port for cargo in Central Florida.

‘I Got Hooked On The Place’

While attending the University of Minnesota, McLouth had become active in the Republican Party and he desired to continue with politics after moving to Brevard, but the problem he encountered was finding many Republicans in the area during those years.

McLouth had originally thought of helping a Republican become port commissioner, but there was nary a member of the party who wanted to run for the position. McLouth took matters into his own hands.

“I wanted to run for something and remembering the Jetty Park weekend, I decided to run for port commissioner,” said McLouth.

“I got hooked on the place, so I campaigned hard because I wanted to make a difference.”

Beyond the natural beauty of Jetty Park, McLouth saw amazing untapped potential at the Port.

“There wasn’t much business going on, just some orange juice, newsprint and petroleum,” said McLouth, who vowed to help reshape the Port.

HISTORY OF PORT CANAVERAL: Mac McLouth Leads Port Canaveral Into Its Second DecadeRelated Story:
HISTORY OF PORT CANAVERAL: Mac McLouth Leads Port Canaveral Into Its Second Decade

He not only got elected port commissioner once but went on for eight straight terms, serving the Port in the position for the next 32 years before resigning in 1996 to become its director of marketing, a job he held for four years before his segue as executive director for another four.

After his stint as executive director, McLouth got elected for a ninth term and served the Port until 2011. Although he is not currently in office, he attends all Port meetings.

“I’ve kept very active as a community leader,” he said.

Among the major accomplishments in his career, McLouth is proud that in 1971, he was integral in doubling the size of the Port, by working to obtain a Federal Economic Development Act grant and Corps of Engineers permits to develop the western turning basin.“Without it, we would have been dead in the water,” he quipped.

When McLouth first became involved with the Port more than half a century ago, about 2/3 of the total revenue needed for the facility was derived from taxes. That wouldn’t do, he said, and he helped turn the figure around 32 years ago, making the Port self-sufficient.

Arguably his greatest accomplishment and one that floated the Port’s profitability was his influence in marketing the Port to the blossoming cruise ship industry.

As early as 1967, Mac McLouth was pitching Port Canaveral as the “outlet to the sea” for then-new Walt Disney World, just four years after S/S Yarmouth, the first cruise ship to use Port Canaveral, took off with a whopping 402 passengers for a sold-out Labor Day jaunt to Nassau.

As early as 1967, he was pitching Port Canaveral as the “outlet to the sea” for then-new Walt Disney World, just four years after S/S Yarmouth, the first cruise ship to use Port Canaveral, took off with a whopping 402 passengers for a sold-out Labor Day jaunt to Nassau.

Premier, the first cruise line to call Port Canaveral a home port, was soon followed by giants such as Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Carnival and, of course, Disney. Additional lines such as Cunard also use the port on a regular basis.

He also never forgot Jetty Park, which first inspired him. Along with the Port, Jetty Park has matured and is now considered one of the Space Coast’s top recreational spots, with 4.5 acres of beach, 210-site campground, boardwalk, bait and tackle shop and a refreshment center.

At the opening of the channel into the Atlantic Ocean by Jetty Park now sits one of the most-loved features of the facility, the 1,200-foot Malcolm E. McLouth Fishing Pier, named in Mac’s honor in 1995.

Mac McLouth decided to toss his hat in the port commissioner ring again at the encouragement of friends and other commissioners who feel his expertise could well be one of the Port’s greatest assets.

McLouth’s Expertise Is Among Port’s Greatest Assets

From the balcony of his condo in Cocoa Beach, McLouth never tires of watching the comings and goings of the many cruise ships he helped to first welcome. “It never gets old,” he said.

McLouth decided to toss his hat in the port commissioner ring again at the encouragement of friends and other commissioners who feel his expertise could well be one of the Port’s greatest assets.

If voters elect him as port commissioner for the 10th time, he vows to put his considerable knowledge and energy to help propel the Port to the top spot.

“I put a lot of hours into the job because I really love it,” he said. “I’ve spent the last 50 years of my life working on the Port. I’ve got so much time and energy invested in the Port that I can’t let it go. It’s been my life.”

Malcolm (Mac) McLouth offers his observations about the development and expansion at Port Canaveral. McLouth has a unique perspective as, over the last 51 years, he has been the Executive Director/CEO of the Port, served as a Port Canaveral Commissioner for 32 years and was the Director Business Development.

Paid political advertisement for Mac McLouth, Republican candidate for Canaveral Port Authority District 5.