26 Aug 2025

Tampa Harbor, Florida, Navigation Improvement Study

Abstract: The Port of Tampa Bay services approximately 30.5 million tons of cargo each year (based on 2017–2021 data) and is situated on the Tampa Bay/Orlando I-4 Corridor, which serves the largest concentration of distribution centers in the state. To expand operations to include direct Asia, Mexico, and Central America services, numerous port facility improvements were required. This rapid expansion of port capabilities led to increasing difficulty of port efficiency and navigation. A study was conducted investigating proposed channel improvements addressing these issues. In 2022 and 2023, the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) assisted the US Army Corps of Engineers–Jacksonville District in evaluating proposed deepening and widening alternatives in Tampa Harbor by completing a ship simulation study using ERDC’s Ship/Tow Simulator. During this study, focus areas were passing lanes in Cut B and Gadsden Point Cut, the turning basin at Hooker’s Point/Port Sutton, the turn widener between Cut F and Gadsden Point Cut, and turns into Alafia and Big Bend. The proposed design was evaluated over the course of 2 weeks with four pilots. Proposed modifications were assessed through analysis of data resulting from the ship simulations including track plots, run sheets, and final pilot surveys.

26 Aug 2025

Miami Harbor Navigation Improvements Study

Abstract: In 2019, the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory (CHL), Ship/Tow Simulator (STS), was used to perform a navigation study assisting the US Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District. The study evaluates channel improvements to allow larger containerships to call at the Port of Miami. This study also evaluates improvements associated with the proposed cruise terminals. This study was conducted at the CHL real-time STS. Real-time refers to the fact that model time uses a 1:1 ratio to prototype time. In addition, real world environmental forces were simulated and acted upon the modeled ships during the study. These forces included currents, wind, bathymetry, and bank effects. Simulations for the project improvements were conducted at CHL for 3 weeks in August 2019 and 1 week in November 2019. Seven Biscayne Bay pilots participated in the validation and testing exercises. The design vessels include the MSC Daniela (14,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit [TEU]) container ship, the Majestic Maersk (18,000 TEU) container ship, the Allure of the Seas cruise ship, the Disney Dream cruise ship, and the M/S Paradise cruise ship. Results, in the form of track plots and pilot questionnaires, were reviewed to develop conclusions and recommendations.