Business and Financial Port Manatee Handling Massive Generators for Expansion of Tampa Power Plant

PALMETTO – Demonstrating its outstanding capabilities for moving massive project cargos, Port Manatee is handling imports of several heat recovery steam generators, commonly referred to as HSRGs, and other related oversized units destined for expansion of a nearby power plant.

The HSRGs, made in South Korea and imported by Babcock Power Inc. subsidiary Vogt Power International Inc., have been arriving at Port Manatee since October on BBC Chartering vessels. The units, weighing as many as 255 tons each, are being offloaded by Federal Marine Terminals Inc. stevedoring crews onto specialized 18-axle trailers of Florida-based Beyel Brothers Crane & Rigging and then trucked about 50 miles to the power plant site, near Mulberry, Fla.

The units are being used by Tampa Electric Co. in a nearly $700 million expansion of it s Polk Power Station. The expansion project, targeted for completion by early 2017, will capture the waste heat from existing natural gas combustion turbines to create more power – to increase the output of the existing units by 70 percent.

Additional shipments handled through Port Manatee in connection with the power plant expansion include the steam turbine generator, designed and manufactured by Alstom. Shipboard cranes and the port’s mobile harbor cranes are being used to discharge the heavyweight cargo.

“Special projects of this type highlight the superb capabilities of Port Manatee and its partners to handle oversized cargos, including those headed for Polk County and other surrounding areas,” said Carlos Buqueras, Port Manatee’s executive director.

“We are deeply appreciative of the confidence shown by Tampa Electric in the abilities of Port Manatee to efficiently and cost-effectively handle these moves with our combination of infrastructure, highway connectivity, experienced port staff and collaborating partners,” Buqueras added. “Cargo of this type fits perfectly with Port Manatee’s diversified business strategy.”