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The Tampa Bay economy receives more than $7 mil- lion a year in savings and direct income from the oper- ation of the Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System (PORTS), according a new NOAA sponsored study. The report details the first study of the navigational aid which is in operation at 13 major ports across the Unit- ed States.

Tampa's PORTS system provides accurate real-time oceanographic information tailored to the specific needs of the 6,700 commercial vessels transiting Tampa Bay each year.

Tampa Bay maritime users have realized enhanced navigational safety while transiting the long channels of the harbor. This has resulted in more efficient loading logistics, enhanced vessel traffic management, and bet- ter protection of the environment and citizens of the

Tampa Bay region. It is especially helpful for both plan- ning and maintaining the flow of maritime commerce, during periods of disturbed weather conditions." "This study validated what we have been hearing for some time," said Mike Szabados, director of the

NOAA's Ocean Service Center for Operational Oceano- graphic Products and Services.

The most significant change in maritime shipping operations in the bay in the 1990s occurred when Har- bor pilots onboard vessels began using portable com- puters to access PORTS in real-time. During this time, groundings decreased by half. With tankers accounting for 2,200 transits per year, the 50% reduction in ground- ings translates into a conservative estimate of $2.8 mil- lion in avoided costs annually. The PORTS© system was installed in Tampa in 1990.

The system provides real-time data available to load ships to drafts 12 inches or more above what had been considered the safe guideline. The additional capacity for the phosphate trade alone in Tampa Bay could equal an increased benefit of $1.1 million each year.

Even though hazardous chemical spills in Tampa Bay are rare, at a conservative estimate the additional effi- ciency and accuracy of applying these data would avoid nearly $1.8 million per year in losses.

PORTS data are used to enhance area weather and coastal marine forecasts, particularly coastal flooding.

Tampa Bay is considered one of the most storm surge threatened areas in the country because of its large coastal population and its geography. Applying PORTS data risk formulas for forecasts in the area gives it an estimated yearly value of $2 million.

The report was authored by Hauke Kite-Powell,

Ph.D., of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute

Marine Policy Center, who designed the method of identifying as well as collecting and quantifying the data. The Tampa study was the first application of the methodology which NOAA plans to use in evaluation of

PORTS systems in Houston and New York in 2006.

PORTS systems also operate in San Francisco Bay;

Chesapeake Bay, which serves Delaware, Maryland and

Virginia; Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island; Soo Locks,

Michigan; Los Angeles/Long Beach, California;

Delaware River and Bay; Tacoma, Washington; Port of

Anchorage, Alaska; New Haven, Connecticut and the

Lower Columbia River, bordering Oregon and Wash- ington. 8• MarineNews • February, 2006

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NOAA Study Shows Value of PORTS Program

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