That dredging process at the Port of Oakland has enormous implications for the future of shipping and transportation in the Bay Area, and may hold the key to protecting local shorelines.

The super ships are coming, and PortMiami — set in an aquatic preserve at the north tip of Biscayne Bay — says it needs to get bigger. While the scope of the work remains uncertain, enlarging the busy port just three years after completion of the previous $205 million “Deep Dredge” is sure to set off another skirmish over potential damage to sea life from digging up the bottom of the shallow bay.

One year into operations of the expanded Panama Canal, the freight transportation world has witnessed leviathan containerships, gargantuan land-based cranes and dredging projects along the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts, but intermodal shipping professionals say it’s too early to quantify the precise impact of the massive infrastructure project.

East Coast ports eager to capitalize on the newly expanded Panama Canal are engaged in massive dredging projects to reach the ideal channel depth of 50 feet or more, but so far results are uneven. (With interactive graphic.)

With 85% of the Delaware River navigation channel deepened to 45 feet, Pennsylvania elected officials gathered on the banks of the Delaware River on April 29 to celebrate.

The House overwhelmingly passed a long-awaited water reauthorization bill May 20 that will allow dredging at several ports around the country to accommodate the large cargo ships expected with the widening of the Panama Canal.