The Port of Key West, Florida’s most southern port, consists of three docking facilities: Mallory Square, the Navy’s Outer Mole Pier, and the privately-owned Pier B. These facilities constitute one of the busiest cruise ports of call in the nation and one of the state’s strongest and most sustained ferry- port operations. The port hosts cruise ships from Miami, Port Everglades, Canaveral, Tampa and Jacksonville as well as ferries from Fort Myers and Marco Island. Due to the COVID pandemic the port only hosted 161,197-cruise passengers.
The Port of Key West is a major economic engine for the city and local businesses, resulting in an economic impact annually of $85 million (pre-pandemic). The port provides 1,250 direct and indirect jobs to the 25,000 citizens of Key West, while contributing 6 percent of the city’s total general tax revenue. Key West is one of the most popular ports in the Caribbean and passengers are introduced to the unique charm of Key West without contributing vehicular traffic to the overburdened US-1 corridor.
