Why the rush on Port of Miami deep dredge?

Dan Kipnis of the Biscayne Bay Regional Restoration Coordination Team writing in the Miami Herald: ...In Florida, 79 percent of our gross domestic product comes from coastal tourism; a healthy economy requires a healthy environment. Biscayne Bay, beaches, the Everglades, the Keys, reefs, fishing — these are the public coastal resources that started and support tourism in Florida. What kind of economy would we have without them?

...Public officials overlook recent and relevant scientific data, which could undermine their case that the deep dredging of Biscayne Bay can be prosecuted safely. The Port of Miami, Gov. Rick Scott’s office and the Florida East Coast Railroad have run sophisticated PR campaigns to sway the public, influence politicians and fool the media — overwhelming voices that counsel a more cautious, conservative approach.

Lobbyists and power brokers have convinced the powers-that-be, if we do not have the port dredged by 2014, when the Panama Canal expansion is scheduled for completion, the newest, largest container ships in the world will not stop in Miami because the shipping channel is too shallow.

This is simply not true. Many shipping sources and economists say that there is no guarantee that super post-Panamax container ships would have ever chosen to stop in Miami in the first place. Some geographically strategic ports on the east coast already have shipping channels at the required minimum depth of 50 feet. These ports are heavy on infrastructure such as rail and roads that the Port of Miami lacks. Shipping cost studies show that Miami is the least efficient place in the country to land cargo, being located at the extreme southern end of Florida. Basically, the longer you have to move cargo the less efficient and profitable it is....

ThePort of Miami, Wiukimedia Commons