Dredging channels seems appealing to every port on the East Coast. The prospect of dredging deeper channels is to attract the mega-ships that will start using the overhauled Panama Canal upon its completion in 2014.
Apart from having financial advantages, the project worth billions of dollars could also be environmentally challenging.
Miami’s port has already secured consent and funding to deepen its channel to 52 feet.
However, the undertaking planned to commence the following summer has faced a legal challenge filed on Monday. Environmental groups made it clear that it would badly damage Biscayne Bay and kill coral beds and protected wildlife.
The depth JaxPort has been striving for is 50 feet. If JaxPort neglects the environmental issues the dredging could possibly create, it might find itself in the same situation Miami is currently facing.
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Dredging Today Staff, December 2, 2011;