Port of Miami New North Cruise Berth 7

Royal Caribbean designed and constructed a new cruise terminal in the Port of Miami capable of handling the largest cruise ships in the world. The new terminal houses an angular glass center and parking garage for about 1,000 parking spaces at the northeastern side of the port. The 170,000 ft² terminal is nicknamed the ‘Crown of Miami’ because of its angular glass shape. The new terminal will be the home base for the ship Allure of the Seas and Symphony of the Seas. Several contractors were involved with the project, including Suffolk Construction Co., Moss, and Ebsary Foundation Co.

Cashman Dredging was contracted for the Capital Improvement project to deepen the terminal.

PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Cashman’s responsibilities included dredging ~117,000 yd³ of sand, coral, debris, and limestone into fixed bottom hopper scows; trans-loading of that material from the scows on to land for re-handling and trucking offsite.
• Upland re-handling of material and disposal by truck provided by Ebsary Foundation Co.
• Dredging operations occurred in tight quarters with the old bulkhead sheets/piles being extracted simultaneously.
• The dredge encountered ~44,000 ft² of limestone around the middle of the project site which required the use of a “punch” (steel pipe with a chisel) dropped from a crane to fracture the rock. This method worked successfully.
• The dredge cleared ~15,000 ft² of limestone to the west of the berth outside the original scope to provide Royal Caribbean a completely clear berth.