Ranking Ports by Vessel Demand for Depth
Publication: Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 150, Issue 1
Abstract
The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) traditionally uses two metrics to evaluate the maintenance of coastal navigation projects: tonnage at the associated port (representing relative importance) and the controlling depth in the channel (representing operating condition). These are incorporated into a risk-based decision framework directing funds where channel conditions have deteriorated and the disrupted tonnage potential is the highest. However, these metrics fail to capture shipper demand for the maintained depth service provided by the USACE through dredging. Using automatic identification system (AIS) data, the USACE is pioneering new metrics describing vessel demand for the channel depth, represented by vessel encroachment volume (VEV). VEV describes the volume of the hull intruding into a specified clearance margin above the bed and captures how much vessels use the deepest portions of USACE-dredged channels. This study compares the VEV among 13 ports over 4 years by combining AIS, tidal elevations, channel surveys, and sailing draft. The ports are ranked based on the services demanded by their user base to inform the decision framework driving dredge funding allocations. Integrating demand-for-depth metrics into the Harbor Maintenance Fee assessment and/or Trust Fund disbursements could alleviate the constitutionality concerns and several criticisms levied against Harbor Maintenance funding.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or codes generated or used during the study are available in a repository or online in accordance with funder data retention policies: Marine Cadastre AIS data (Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (BOEM and NOAA 2019)), eHydro surveys (USACE 2020b), tidal elevation (NOAA 2020), vessel draft (USACE-IWR 2018), and dredging records (USACE-DIS 2022).
Acknowledgments
Data collection for this work was funded by USACE-Jacksonville District under the Scope of Work for Port Connectivity and Underkeel Clearance for South Atlantic Division Ports. Processing and analysis were funded by the USACE Coastal Inlets Research Program. No competing interests were reported by the authors.
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Published In
Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering
Volume 150 • Issue 1 • January 2024
Copyright
© 2023 Published by American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 28, 2023
Accepted: Jun 23, 2023
Published online: Sep 20, 2023
Published in print: Jan 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Feb 20, 2024
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