Focus on Manatee | Port Manatee counts on Customs officers to move goods from ships to shelves

Perhaps overlooked among the many front-line workers helping to ensure safety and well-being in these challenging times are the federal officers of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

CBP officers play a critical role in the expeditious movement of rightful import shipments from ships to shelves while keeping pests and other potential contraband from getting in.

Among cargos recently cleared by CBP at Port Manatee have been more than 50 truckloads of pineapples, bananas and melons donated to local food banks and shelters by longtime tenant Del Monte Fresh Produce Co.

The generous donations – numbering more than 65,000 boxes of fruit – have headed to such entities as United Against Poverty, Feeding Tampa Bay, Farm Share, Southeastern Food Bank, Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee, Bread of the Mighty Food Bank, Anchor House, Manatee County Government, Association of Independent Food Banks, Midwest Food Bank, Second Harvest, Harvest Tabernacle of Sarasota, Second Harvest and the Salvation Army of Bradenton.

Indeed, the job of CBP has never been more important than it is today, as food bank beneficiaries and general consumers alike look to continue to have ready access to fresh produce and other essential goods as the nation grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic.

At Port Manatee, where waterborne operations remain in gear amid present-day health and safety protocols, CBP officers unflinchingly carry out their duties. Simply stated, CBP represents the first line of defense at U.S ports of entry, keeping the bad stuff out while swiftly clearing legitimate import cargos en route to their ultimate destinations.

Such clearances at Port Manatee have been further expedited over the past few years, following the port’s gaining in 2017 of CBP certification as a member of the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), a voluntary federal homeland security program.

The C-TPAT program is among the numerous initiatives that have merged since the tragic events of 9/11. In the wake of 9/11, the U.S. Customs Service, which dates back to 1789, was recast as the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, constituting the largest federal law enforcement agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The current CBP contingent encompasses more than 45,000 sworn federal agents and officers nationwide.

Port Manatee collaborates on an ongoing basis with a host of local, state and federal agencies, with none more important in these troubling times than U.S. Customs and Border Protection, whose officers keep the supply chain safely fluid, to the benefit of consumers and, as a whole, the economy, for which the self-sustaining port generates more than $2.3 billion in impacts while providing more than 24,000 direct and indirect jobs, all without local property tax support.

We tip our metaphorical hats to the men and women of CBP and to all who safely keep essential goods flowing in these unprecedented times.

Be safe and be well.

Carlos Buqueras is executive director of Port Manatee.

This story was originally published May 11, 2020 at 5:00 AM.