Miami River Quality Action Team
Annual Report 1998-1999
Commercial Viability
 Recent enhancements to Miami River
facilities and services, along with required Coast Guard safety
and environmental improvements, have allowed the Miami River's
cargo industry to handle a record volume of commerce with a new
level of efficiency. Additionally, the successful 1998 implementation
of the Caribbean Cargo Ship Safety Code has meant that a higher
caliber of steel-hull vessels has replaced the small wooden vessels
that traditionally called upon the River.
Not only are the River's major carriers expanding their capabilities,
but smaller services continue to manage steady trade relationships
despite the threatened competition offered by a new, international
and state-of-the-art port in Freeport. Ship's agents, marine
contractors and environmental firms with Miami River operations
are playing integral roles in maintaining commerce, handling
approximately $4 billion a year in cargo. The private terminals
of the River have secured a solid leadership position in serving
shallow draft Caribbean markets, earning their reputation as
Florida's fifth largest port.
 Cargo Carrier & Shipping Industry
Update
An April 1999 report of the Army Corps of Engineers' Ports
and Waterways Division, Navigation Data Center, notes that 66
piers, wharves and docks are active on the Miami River, many
of them in service of the River's cargo terminals. Together,
these terminals share a container storage capacity of nearly
7,000 TEUs, with room for development of several times that number.
The Corps also notes the Miami River's significance as an
"important maritime transportation corridor." U.S.
Coast Guard reports specify that over 1,300 cargo vessels called
on the Miami River in 1998, representing more than 80 ports of
call throughout the Caribbean and Central and South America.
A prosperous marine industry supports Miami River trade, providing
hundreds of direct jobs ranging from terminal services, boat
and equipment repair, packing, loading and trucking, to thousands
of indirect jobs dependent on the marine industry. In 1988, a
dozen River tugboats served cargo vessels, representing four
different towing companies, a record high.
Tugboat activity is a good indicator of cargo vitality on
the River. Tug captains act as River pilots to oceangoing vessels,
escorting them along the five-and-a-half-mile stretch of the
River's navigable waterway. On this journey, tugs with ships
under tow negotiate 11 bascule bridges and four fixed bridges
placed between the River's marine industrial area toward the
airport (west), and the mouth of the River toward downtown (east).
| PROBLEM: Tug captains and terminal
operators identify shoaling and silting in the channel due to
accumulated sediments as the major problem restricting trade
on the Miami River. |
|
Miami River Tugboat Companies |
Florida Marine Towing
Hempstead Marine
Moby Marine
P & L Towing & Transportation |
|
Sediment buildup in the River's channel allows the movement
of loaded cargo vessels only at high tide, and then many vessels
cannot load to full capacity. Additionally, River sediment is
contaminated, creating exorbitant disposal costs for the local
sponsor and making the River dredging project unaffordable. Finally,
contaminated sediments moving into Biscayne Bay threaten the
marine life and fragile ecosystem that provides recreational
and economic opportunities for more than four million South Florida
residents.
 Although the need to dredge the
River is widely recognized, the cost and logistics of removing
contaminated sediments have confounded all previous efforts to
find a solution. SOLUTION: Terminal and vessel operators have
joined forces with the Quality Action Team and the Miami River
Commission by serving on the newly created MRC Dredging Committee.
The result is a broad-based coalition of community leaders, business
interests, agencies and federal, state and local officials who
have united to work for the River's cleanup.
The MRC Dredging Committee has devised a workable plan to
dredge the River in phases, a prospect which appeals to both
industry and agencies. Advantages of phased dredging are lower
immediate costs and more manageable logistics. The MRC administration
has succeeded in eliminating the most significant historic barrier
to dredging the River by winning a ruling from the Army Corps
of Engineers to shift the burden of cost sharing to the federal
government, thereby significantly reducing the disposal costs
to the local sponsor. Updates on dredging can be obtained from
the Miami River Commission: (305) 361-4850.
 PROBLEM: Solid waste, submerged
pilings, bulky items and derelict vessels also impede mooring
and navigation for recreational vessels in the River's waterway.
SOLUTION: Dredging the River's channel will eliminate 90% of
the River's submerged hazards. Until then, individual mariners
need to remain vigilant when close to the shoreline. In the meantime,
the Army Corps and the Coast Guard are empowered to take action
on immediate threats blocking the channel, and the Florida Marine
Patrol continues its work to remove derelict vessels.
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