MIAMI – Each individual one day South Florida waterways and ports shift large quantities of cargo, but the only cargo ships that go beneath fixed bridges are on the Miami River.
“On the River, we have 4 set bridges,” explained Greg Hempstead. He and his household have been navigating the Miami River for a lot more than 100 several years.
They work a fleet of tug boats. Going cargo ships by way of these waters is distinctive than guiding ships in a port. For starters, the ship does not transfer underneath its have electric power on the river.
“The ship goes lifeless. They shut down their primary motor. They place their rudder on midship, so steering in neutral. We then pull and tail her up the river to where ever their birth is,” Hempstead explained.
When cargo is relocating via, Hempstead said tug boats are in management.
“We have a person tug in the entrance, that is Jean Ruth, she’s our pull boat. He’s in command of headway and then the tug in the back, which is the Atlas, which is that just one that I run, does steering and halting. I’m in regulate of all the turns and if we will need to quit, which is my obligation,” he mentioned.
Greg claims the protection file on the river is very superior when it arrives to any issues going less than bridges.
“Is there any concern on the Miami River of ships hitting some of the pilings?” CBS News Miami’s Ted Scouten questioned.
“For our river, they have completed incredibly nicely with the fendering units. There has been accidents. No ship has made make contact with with a single of the concrete piling on any of the preset bridges on this river,” he reported.
Cargo ships on the Miami River can be no extra than 300 toes. There are also height and depth limits.
