NOAA, Coast Guard, USACE, and Woolpert Collaborate to Reopen Navigation Channels in Tampa Bay

The teams quickly coordinated the collection, processing, and delivery of bathymetric data to ensure navigation channels were clear and could reopen after Hurricane Milton.TAMPA, Fla. (Oct. 14, 2024) — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Coast Survey, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Woolpert mobilized Friday to conduct emergency response surveys of federal navigation channels to support the reopening of Port Tampa Bay following Hurricane Milton.

The Woolpert survey team worked from Friday evening to Saturday morning to survey and map a wide swath of the Tampa Bay entrance channel up to the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. This enabled the Tampa Bay entrance channel to reopen at noon ET Saturday.

Port Tampa Bay is Florida’s largest port, with about 70 miles of channels, and ranks 12th in the U.S. by trade volume. It is responsible for 7 billion gallons of fuel, or nearly half the fuel the state relies on daily, for residents, businesses, military bases, and airports across the state each year.

For a major hurricane to make landfall Wednesday, and the state’s largest port to reopen Saturday, the USCG has made clear their appreciation and commendation to the NOAA response and the recognition of each individual member of the Navigation Response Teams and Woolpert survey team. NOAA also commended the collaboration and quick work of the team.

“NOAA appreciates the quick action of our contract partners to assist in these emergency response efforts,” said Rear Adm. Ben Evans, director of NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey. “These relationships and mechanisms allow NOAA to accelerate the resumption of maritime commerce in the Tampa Bay area.”

NOAA Navigation Manager Tim Osborn echoed Evans.

“The Woolpert team worked through the night in coordination with NOAA, USCG, and USACE to provide critical data to decision-makers in regard to channel conditions,” Osborn said. “Through these efforts, the port was able to reopen the inbound corridor of the Tampa Bay entrance channel at noon on Saturday, and fuel barges were able to continue moving critical resources through the channels.”

Woolpert Vice President and Maritime Market Director Dave Neff said that this collaboration illustrates the shared focus of these teams and the value they place on public safety and disaster recovery.

“When a storm of this magnitude impacts a commerce-rich environment like Tampa, there is a high likelihood that it will drag debris into the navigation channels, which are important economic lifelines to these regions,” Neff said. “In addition to clearing the way for emergency supplies, this work provides a critical service to quickly reopen shipping and commerce that equates to millions of dollars for the local economy.”