BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Rich Hensel, who owns several business at Port Canaveral, is excited about what's on the horizon, especially a new cruise ship on the way.

The LNG cruise ship stands for liquefied natural gas, and it's the world's first.

“It’s the growth of the cruise ship industry, which soon will be over 5 million visitors a year, and the space industry, which contributes to the port, as well as the new cruise ships that are coming that are all LNG,” Hensel adds.

Port Canaveral Director and CEO Capt. John Murray says Port Canaveral is getting new gear in preparation, including a new firefighting and rescue tech boat.

“An LNG fire is fought with dry chemicals, and the ones we have now are all water-type fire extinguishing systems,” Murray said.

Along with upgrades to a couple of terminals for Disney and Carnival Cruise, the port also got some bulk space back.

“It was property we didn't have control over, so we bought them out of the lease and have that bulk space,” Murray said.

All of this is music to Hensel’s ears — it means business will continue going up.

“In the past 16 years, (we've seen) tremendous growth not just in cruise ships but also in community as well as business in the Space Center. I have four restaurants in the area as well as other business,” Hensel adds.

According to port officials, the economic contribution throughout Florida is about $3.9 billion in output, with more than 32,000 jobs and $1.3 billion in wage income.

This year, the port received the Green Marine Recertification for its long term sustainable environmental goals like spill prevention, storm water, and waste management.