Explanation of Indicator
Florida is home to twelve deepwater public ports which have acted as
growth centers for water-dependent economic activities. Associated
with these ports is the presence of commercial shipping to various
in-state and out-of-state destinations with a variety of cargo
from oranges to fossil fuels. With the high level of shipping
activity, navigational accidents are inevitable and these accidents
may pose a risk to coastal residents and visitors, especially if
hazardous materials are involved.
The United States Coast Guard, the agency responsible for responding to navigational shipping accidents, maintains a database containing records for each accident showing date, location, casualties, vessel size/classification and other information.
Data Characteristics
SOURCE
The Marine Casualty Database is maintained by the Program Support
Division, U.S. Coast Guard, 2100 2nd Street S.W., Washington D.C.
20593-0001. Contact Lieutenant Joe Keating at (202) 267-2679 for
additional information.
ACQUISITION
The data are available on 9-track 1/2" reel-to-reel tape in ASCII
format for an approximate cost of $200; the information is also
available in an 8mm tape format. To obtain the data, send a
Freedom of Information Act request to the Commandant (G-TPS-2)
at the above address requesting the Marine Casualty data from
1984 to present.
COLLECTION
The Marine Casualty Database contains information from 1984 to
the present and is updated continuously. The data are available
for the entire U.S.; however, the information can be sorted by
location for Florida-specific requests.
Data Limitations
The primary limitation is financial due to the cost of obtaining
the data. In addition, the format of the data requires special
equipment; however, that equipment is found at many universities
and state agencies.
Recommendations
The Florida Coastal Management Program should decide whether
this indicator is important enough to merit an investment of
time and money in data acquisition. If a decision is made to
purchase the data, construction of an indicator showing change
in navigational shipping accidents since 1984 should be relatively simple.