Spotted: Port Everglades Welcomes New American-Made, American-Flagged Tanker

Broward County’s Port Everglades welcomed on July 1 the newly built Palmetto State, a 50,000-ton petroleum tanker.

The ship, being chartered by Citgo, arrived with 276,000 barrels of gasoline and jet fuel.

“While we have nearly 600 petroleum tanker and barge calls annually, it is a rare opportunity for us to welcome a brand new petroleum tanker to our seaport,” Glenn Wiltshire, Port Everglades Deputy Director, commented.

“The Palmetto State is state-of-the-art among American-made and American-flagged tankers, with excellent fuel efficiency and advanced technology,” Wiltshire added.

The Palmetto State is 610-feet long with a 106-foot beam. It is an LNG-conversion-ready product tanker with a 330,000 barrel cargo capacity owned by American Petroleum Tankers (APT) and operated by Crowley Maritime Corporation.

Constructed by General Dynamics NASSCO in San Diego as part of an eight-ship contract, the tanker was launched in March this year.

Port Everglades is said to be South Florida’s main seaport for receiving petroleum products including gasoline, jet fuel and alternative fuels. The current level of annual petroleum production for the region is more than 121 million barrels in FY2016, an increase of 3.6 percent from FY2015.