G&G Shipping in talks with Port Canaveral

G&G Marine, parent company of Fort Lauderdale-based G&G Shipping, is in negotiations with Port Canaveral to begin operating a service there.

G&G operates multiple services to the Bahamas and another to the Turks & Caicos Islands from its private terminal at Port Laudania, which is adjacent to Port Everglades. The carrier also has an agreement with Port Everglades to operate from its common user facilities as needed during peak operating times.

But G&G hopes to grow its business in central Florida, and operating a service from Port Canaveral would be convenient for customers in Orlando and the surrounding area, Jim Hampel, G&G chief operating officer, told the Florida Caribbean Connection.

A report on the negotiations in the Orlando Business Journal said Port Canaveral and G&G are looking at developing a terminal for G&G on 16 acres at the port. If an agreement is finalized and G&G starts an islands service from Port Canaveral, as many as five ships could be deployed for that service.

G&G now has a fleet of 10 specialized vessels for its Bahamas services. The shallow-draft vessels are able to make calls throughout the Bahamas at landing points that would not be accessible for most cargo ships.

G&G Marine also has its own shipbuilding unit, St. Johns Shipbuilding, located south of Jacksonville on the St. Johns River at Palatka. G&G President Steve Ganoe said the shipbuilding company this year is delivering a specialty vessel for the Bahamas with a draft of only seven feet.

He explained that with the types of specialty vessels G&G uses, the company is better off building its own ships than trying to locate rare vessels on the international market.



Source:America Shipper