I never planned to escort a freighter out
the Miami River,
but it proved to be an interesting experience!
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(tap or click pic to read)

Metals recycling in action along the industrial Miami River. Some of this ends up as cargo on freighters bound for the Caribbean islands.
Escorting the Betty K VIII out the Miami River and into Biscayne Bay!
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The Betty K VIII is a 250 ft long freighter with a 43 ft beam, launched by the Betty K Line company in 2014 to make regular runs between Miami and the Bahamas.
Two powerful tugs thread her up and down the Miami River three times a week!
The front tug pulls the freighter at kayaking speed, while the rear tug does most of the steering and braking.
Two lines are used to rein in the ship with the rear tug constantly swinging from one side to the other to keep the ship in the middle of the channel.
It’s really impressive to see the action firsthand!
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With that said..
Blessings friends!
🙂
Wow!
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We used to live on the Miami River across from Nuta’s Boat Yard
Late 80’s to 1999
We saw many tug drivers of different skill levels
The really good operators were boring to watch
We were following the Rio Miami when it collided with the Second Avenue Bridge.
The rear tug had its steering fail at the worst possible moment.
When we first moved in, the sound of the tugs would wake us up, even in the middle of the night, but after a year or so we’d sleep through it.
Fond memories
Thanks for the story
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Wow, that must’ve been quite the sight Bill!
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