Company pitches idea for ferry service from Port Manatee to Cuba

By SARA KENNEDY — skennedy@bradenton.com

Leonard Moecklin, left, vice president of Havana Ferry Partners LLC, and his colleague, Capt. Phillip Richards, appear Thursday before the Manatee County Port Authority to pitch ferry service between Florida and Cuba. SARA KENNEDY/Bradenton Herald

Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2013/10/18/4778859/company-pitches-idea-for-ferry.html#storylink=cpy

PORT MANATEE -- Fast ferries carrying passengers and cargo highlighted plans outlined Thursday by a company that hopes to launch service between Port Manatee and Cuba.
Leonard Moecklin, vice president of Havana Ferry Partners LLC, said once legal difficulties posed by the U.S. embargo against Cuba are resolved, his company could operate ferries to the island nation 90 miles south of the United States.
Each Damen Sea Axes ferry boat could carry 150 passengers plus tons of cargo, he said.
"It's time to go to Cuba," he told the Manatee County Port Authority.
Business opportunities would cross many economic sectors, including transportation, construction, tourism, real estate, automotive, food, clothing and medical supplies, he said.
Port Manatee could be a hub for shipping construction materials to Cuba, where the infrastructure of the Communist country needs extensive rebuilding, Moecklin said.
As for the political change needed to accomplish such an enterprise, Moecklin said it's difficult when the two governments are still not speaking with each other.

Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2013/10/18/4778859/company-pitches-idea-for-ferry.html#storylink=cpy