THE Port of Miami is still not wide enough in some areas for large cargo ships to navigate its channels in spite of completing a major dredging project in 2015.
The problem with the dredge completed in 2015 was the timing, according to port director Juan Kuryla. The US$205 million dredging project began in 2013 but was based on a study completed in 2004. Since then cargo ships have outgrown original size projections by 50 per cent, reported Miami Herald.
When the port's depth was studied in 2004, the capacity of the largest containership expected to pass through the port was 6,600 TEU. The 50-foot dredge completed in 2015 was built to accommodate post Panamax ships with drafts of up to 50 feet in anticipation of the 2016 Panama Canal expansion.
To devise a solution, the US Army Corps of Engineers has been allocated $556,250 for a feasibility study regarding port improvements. The port requested the study in March because of issues raised by harbour pilots about navigating the port. The study will go before the Miami-Dade County Commission on July 24.
The problem with the dredge completed in 2015 was the timing, according to port director Juan Kuryla. The US$205 million dredging project began in 2013 but was based on a study completed in 2004. Since then cargo ships have outgrown original size projections by 50 per cent, reported Miami Herald.
When the port's depth was studied in 2004, the capacity of the largest containership expected to pass through the port was 6,600 TEU. The 50-foot dredge completed in 2015 was built to accommodate post Panamax ships with drafts of up to 50 feet in anticipation of the 2016 Panama Canal expansion.
To devise a solution, the US Army Corps of Engineers has been allocated $556,250 for a feasibility study regarding port improvements. The port requested the study in March because of issues raised by harbour pilots about navigating the port. The study will go before the Miami-Dade County Commission on July 24.