Florida

Brookes Bell’s team in Florida provides maritime consulting through Master Mariners who are able to advise upon a broad range of vessel management issues. These include (but are not limited to):

• Collisions and groundings.
• Navigation analysis.
• Container ship casualty management.
• Stowage and securing assessments.
• Tanker operations.
• Pollution control.
• Fixed object damage.

Our Master Mariners have direct command experience across a diverse range of vessels, including container ships, car carriers, and tankers.

Florida Maritime Facts

Florida is home to 16 public seaports along its Atlantic and Gulf coasts, handling cargoes ranging from petroleum products and containers to some of the largest cruise ships in service. Its position at the gateway to the Caribbean and Latin America, together with a large yachting and marine industry centred around Fort Lauderdale, makes it a significant hub for both commercial and leisure shipping.

• Maritime activity at Florida’s seaports contributes an estimated $196 billion to the state’s economy and represents 12.2% of Florida’s GDP, according to Florida Department of Transportation analysis.
   
• Florida is home to some of the world’s busiest cruise ports. In FY2025, Port Canaveral handled around 8.6 million cruise passengers, Port Miami around 8.56 million and Port Everglades around 4.77 million.
   
• JAXPORT in Jacksonville is Florida’s busiest container port, handling around 1.39 million TEUs in FY2025.
   
• Greater Fort Lauderdale is widely known as the “Yachting Capital of the World”, and its marine industry is the area’s second-largest business sector after tourism, supporting more than 149,000 jobs regionally.