by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
When Jack Diamond took over from Dr. Jerry Knauer as president of the Downtown Rotary Club of Jacksonville, he promised to bring in speakers who were making things happen in Jacksonville.
Monday, Diamond brought in someone who may be making more happen than the rest combined: Jacksonville Port Authority Executive Director Rick Ferrin.
“The port is the biggest asset in our community,” said Diamond, senior principal at Rink Design Partnership.
Fresh off the heels of inking his second major deal with an Asian shipper in three years, Ferrin talked about his first decade at the Port and what’s in store for the next 10 years. According to Ferrin, the Port and its increased business with Asian shippers will allow Jacksonville to become one of the major players on the East Coast. He also said signing deals with Asian shippers Mitsui OSK of Japan and Hanjin of South Korea was paramount to the Port’s growth and survival.
“A decade ago when I started at Jaxport, I saw more potential than any other port in the country,” said Ferrin, who came to Jacksonville from the Port of Oakland where he was director of engineering. He also spent 20 years in the Army. “Today, we are realizing that full potential. Over the next 10 years, the port will become the cornerstone and identity of Jacksonville.
“The port will be the center of transportation and logistics and the center of the regional economy.”
For much of Ferrin’s first decade, Puerto Rico was the main destination for much of the goods shipped out of Jacksonville. The Caribbean country provided the Port with steady income, but very little growth. Ferrin said most years the growth was 1-2 percent or non-existent. Expanding beyond Puerto Rico became imperative.
“If we were going to grow the port, it was absolutely essential we expand to Europe and break into the Asian market,” said Ferrin, who became executive director Oct. 1, 2001, when the Port and Aviation Authorities were split. “There was double-digit growth potential in Asia. If we had stayed just in Puerto Rico, we may have had double-digit losses.”
Two years ago, the Port signed a 30-year deal with Mitsui. The accompanying TraPac terminal is under construction and should be done within a couple of years. Two weeks ago, Ferrin, Mayor John Peyton and others from the Port were in South Korea to sign the Hanjin deal.
“Hanjin is a very large Korean shipping line and that terminal will be done in about three-and-a-half years,” said Ferrin. “However, it doesn’t come alone.”
Ferrin said the Hanjin deal also includes Chinese Overseas Shipping Corp. and two other carriers.
“That gives us four major Asian carriers,” he said, adding he expects to execute a contract in the next 90-120 days, after which the design and construction phase will begin.