What is being done in South Florida to prevent a ship from striking a bridge?
MIAMI - Every single day South Florida waterways and ports move massive amounts of cargo, but the only cargo ships that go beneath fixed bridges are on the Miami River.
"On the River, we have 4 fixed bridges," said Greg Hempstead. He and his family have been navigating the Miami River for more than 100 years.
They operate a fleet of tug boats. Moving cargo ships through these waters is different than guiding ships in a port. For starters, the ship does not move under its own power on the river.
"The ship goes dead. They shut down their main engine. They put their rudder on midship, so steering in neutral. We then pull and tail her up the river to wherever their birth is," Hempstead said.
When cargo is moving through, Hempstead said tug boats are in control.
"We have one tug in the front, that's Jean Ruth, she's our pull boat. He's in control of headway and then the tug in the back, which is the Atlas, which is that one that I run, does steering and stopping. I'm in control of all the turns and if we need to stop, that's my responsibility," he said.
Greg says the safety record on the river is pretty good when it comes to any problems going under bridges.
"Is there any concern on the Miami River of ships hitting some of the pilings?" CBS News Miami's Ted Scouten asked.
"For our river, they've done very well with the fendering systems. There has been accidents. No ship has made contact with one of the concrete piling on any of the fixed bridges on this river," he said.
Cargo ships on the Miami River can be no more than 300 feet. There are also height and depth restrictions.
