Port Canaveral - The Canaveral Port Authority decided Wednesday to create a commission to study dockside gambling after hearing its lucrative casino ship tenants have seen precipitous declines in passengers and profits during the past two years. Passenger counts have declined 41 percent, Gary Inks, vice president of sales and marketing for SunCruz Casinos, said in a presentation to commissioners, and profits have eroded.

Canaveral Port Authority commissioners on Wednesday could be asked to approve a temporary gambling operation out of Port Canaveral, until the 415-foot Ocean Jewel is refurbished at a shipyard in the Dominican Republic. Port commissioners in September ratified a five-year, USD 18 million deal with Omega Commercial Finance to bring the 2,000-passenger Ocean Jewel to Brevard County early next year under the new name, Omega Royale.

Port Canaveral's cruise business was up more than 6 percent in June, but cargo shipments remain down, new data show. The port drew 105,769 multiday cruise passengers in June, up from 99,152 passengers in June 2007, according to the latest statistics from the Canaveral Port Authority. Multiday cruises from the port totaled 39 in June, compared with 37 in June 2007.