Phase II of the Port of Miami Harbor Dredging Project was completed in June 2006. It involved the deepening of the South Channel and the Central Turning Basin from -34' to -42' and maintenance dredging of all berthing areas, at an approximate cost of $70 million.

The completion of Phase II provides increased depth at four additional berths to handle deeper draft container vessels, placing the Port of Miami in a more competitive standing in relation to other deepwater seaports courting the same business.

The specifications that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued for the dredging project required confined blasting. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock used new techniques to protect marine wildlife in the area, as the Federal Endangered Species Act requires. Before, during, and after each blasting, a minimum of six observers, approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, positioned themselves in observation areas to watch for the presence of marine mammals. One hundred eighty-six animals were monitored in the area during construction, involving 40
blasts in 37 days; at the end, there were no injuries of any kind to marine mammals resulting from the blasting program.

Phase III of the Port of Miami Harbor Dredging Project involves deepening Fisherman's Channel and the Central Turning Basin to -50', the Entrance Channel and Government Cut to -52', and widening the South Channel by 100 feet. This large-scale dredging project, expected to be completed within six years, was recommended by the Corps and is awaiting final congressional authorization via the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA).

The project's estimated cost is $171 million. Federal cost sharing is expected to be $69 million, with the port bearing responsibility for financing the other $102 million - although the port anticipates
requesting State of Florida funds as well.