 Antillean Marine Shipping Company
and Bernuth Agencies are two Miami River "anchor" marine
cargo companies of the largest class on the Miami River. Together,
these two companies are responsible for 80% of the Caribbean
trade valued in billions of dollars. Hit by worldwide low shipping
rates, these companies have stayed competitive by increasing
volume and concentrating on expanding into new markets. At the
first of November, Antillean launched a new weekly service to
Providentials, Turks & Caicos.
Established on the working river in 1963, Antillean Marine
has been providing regular liner service to ports in the Dominican
Republic, Haiti and Puerto Rico two times a week for over 30
years. Antillean's operation is a family business headed by the
dynamic and youthful leadership of its President, Sarah Babun.
Antillean offers a site on the world wide web to provide instant
information and access to customers from any place in the world.
The site (http://antillean.com)
features operations, services, visuals of terminals, size of
warehouses, sailing schedules, executive bios and electronic
mail. A Miami River fleet of a dozen vessels owned and operated
by Antillean includes cargo ships designed in Singapore especially
for the shallow draft and narrow constraints of the Miami River.
The company's container service features custom designs specifically
suited for their specialty in garment shipping. An in-house state-of-the-art
computerized tracking system complements quality service. Antillean
also enhances data with visual cameras linked to a network of
fiber optics throughout their river terminals, to allow real
time gate control for security purposes.
 Bernuth's emphasis on improving
cost effectiveness without sacrificing customer satisfaction
is validated by its celebration of 27 years in the business of
building customer relationships. Bernuth holds its number two
position in the Caribbean market as a cargo carrier supported
by a chain of companies related to the maritime industry. In
addition to canvassing cargoes and the full service of ship's
operations, Bernuth also operates Florida Marine Towing as a
tugboat subsidiary. Bernuth's services can be examined at their
website: http://www.fbsims.com/bernuth
Matching the operations of the largest carriers in longevity
and consistency of service is a mid-sized class of vessels operated
by companies like Miami Ship Services and Pioneer Shipping. Both
run the short ship lanes to the Bahamas. Always strongly competitive,
these two companies face the challenge of an upstart third company
recently established near the 2nd avenue bridge, running weekly
to Nassau. The rive community has every reason to expect continued
strong movement, especially with the Caribbean Basin Initiative's
passage -- in spite of increased competition.
The smallest class of vessels on the river are served on a
charter or per trip basis by ship's agents and facility operators
who have helped transition the upgrade of small island vessels
to meet revised Coast Guard rules of safety and environmental
standards. Increasing in number, these vessels are subject to
less required Coast Guard intervention than in past years, and
seem to be thriving economically. Jim McCrory, marine surveyor
of McCrory and Associates confirms a general higher standard
of marine operations on the river as a result of the successful
implementation of the Caribbean Cargo Safety Code. Richard Dubin
of Ameritrade estimates that his facilities have handled 200
voyages this year, compared to 160 in 1998. "For the first
time," he notes, I am in a position to turn away business,
and to pick those customers who have proven themselves reliable."
When asked about the future of the Miami River, Dubin sees a
greater consolidation of river properties in order to meet the
terminal needs of a bigger class of vessels. For Dubin, the new
year holds exciting potential as Ameritrade anticipates further
growth, and the family seafood restaurant, East Coast Fisheries,
expands to enjoy the fruits of early steps toward the lower river's
revitalization.
Supportive services for the marine industry are provided by
the river's tugboat companies and boatyards. Moby Marine specializes
in off-shore barge work, P & L Towing and Transportation
serves the large and middle class sized vessels; Florida Marine
Towing services Bernuth and special charters, and Hempstead Marine
tows the smaller entrepreneurial vessels. Ship repair services
and machine shop work are offered by Jones Boat Yard. The founder
of Jones Boat Yard, Cleve Jones, Sr. (d.), had a portion of South
River Drive named after him in February 2000 for his contributions
to the working river.
Miami River terminals participate locally with a voluntary
group of agencies, businesses and citizens working on the improvement
of Miami's working river environment. As Founders of the Miami
River Marine Group, a not-for-profit organization of river businesses,
river terminals have been influential in shaping public policy
about the working River -- to the satisfaction of business and
residents alike.
Many marine industry operators located on the river serve
the community in some capacity to enhance the economic health
of the river's future. Antillean's President, Sara Babun, serves
as Miami-Dade County's appointed Commissioner to the Miami River
Commission (the MRC). The MRC itself has focused on dredging
the river, but also promotes issues that affect the quality of
life for the entire river community. Among these is a planned
river greenway which will assist in alleviating water quality
problems created by stormwater runoff. Dick Bunnell of Bunnell
Foundation Inc. (marine contractor); Jim Brown of Miami Ship
Services (terminal owner); Cleve Jones, Jr. of Jones Boat Yard;
Phil Everingham of Merrill Stevens and Bill Parkes of Cliff Berry
Inc., (marine environmental services) also sit as members of
the Miami River Commission. Capt. Jordan Monocandilos (Bernuth
Agencies) is an active member of the MRC's Dredging Committee,
as is Steve Hurst (Branching Out Environmental Services), George
Cubas (Waste Management Inc.) and Bud Morton (Ferrous Processing,
metal recyclers). John Lambros (Bernuth) volunteers as the industry
representative of the MRC Greenway committee. All are committed
to advancing the goals of the working river.
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