Every day off the Florida coast, pilots steer mega-ships down a watery highway into the Miami seaport. Each ship must stay on a narrow, carefully-planned course to protect the lives on board, the sensitive ecosystem, and the thousands of containers loaded up with furniture, machines, clothes, food, beverages and other commodities bound for the United States.

As they approach the port, they have a challenge: strong currents from the Gulf Stream run perpendicular to the shipping channel. The pilots need information on the currents to immediately make navigation decisions.

Miami ship pilots now have access to real-time information that will help them get into seaport more safely, thanks to a new NOAA system called Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System (PORTS ® ).

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