The Miami River is a working river in the middle of a growing city, and its international shipping terminals move cargo to neighbors in the Caribbean and Central America. The vessels are smaller than at PortMiami, but the U.S. Customs and export filing rules are the same. This guide covers what makes river operations different and the compliance basics every river carrier and NVOCC needs.
Most people picture PortMiami when they think of Miami shipping. A few miles upstream, the Miami River runs its own trade. In its 2025 annual report, the Miami River Commission describes over a dozen international shipping terminals and other marine industrial businesses operating along what it calls “Port Miami River,” providing international trade to neighbors in the Caribbean and Central America.
The Miami River Commission itself was created by the Florida Legislature in 1998 as the official coordinating clearinghouse for public policy and projects related to the river. Its board includes marine industry representatives, which tells you how much the river’s working waterfront matters to local planning.
The physical limits are clear. According to the commission, the federally authorized channel depth is 15 feet at mean low water. The channel is 150 feet wide at the mouth, 125 feet above the NW 17th Avenue bridge and 90 feet above the NW 27th Avenue bridge. Those numbers shape everything from the vessels that can call to how heavily they can load.
The river is no longer just industrial. The commission’s 2025 report lists new residential towers, hotels, restaurants, parks, marinas and boatyards along the same banks as the shipping terminals. In 2025 the commission held public meetings on replacing the NW 17th Avenue bridge and, with FDOT, the railroad bridge, on the Manatee Protection Plan, and on removing a derelict vessel.
For a river carrier, that means operations and compliance go beyond Customs. Bridge projects can affect transit planning, wildlife rules affect how vessels move, and neighbors notice noise and traffic. The commission’s history page also notes that the 2008 Miami River maintenance dredging and clean-up project, which cost $89 million, significantly improved trade on the river. Following its meetings is a cheap way to see changes coming.
A Miami River terminal is not exempt from the rules any other U.S. port follows. CBP’s cargo vessel manifest guidance states that carriers must transmit cargo data to CBP 24 hours before the cargo is loaded aboard the vessel at a foreign port, except for the cargo types noted in 19 CFR 4.7(b)(4); bulk and exempt break bulk data is due 24 hours before arrival. The cargo declaration must list all foreign cargo on board, regardless of the port of discharge.
CBP also notes that NVOCCs who self-file house bills are held to the same standard as vessel operating carriers. For river operators that often consolidate LCL cargo from many small shippers, that matters: every house bill must carry a precise description, the quantity of the smallest external packaging unit, and real shipper and consignee names. For a closer look at the filing itself, see what ACE AMS filing is.
CBP’s cargo vessel manifest guidance lists the core data elements (see 19 CFR 4.7a for the full list). On a short Caribbean run, several of them are easy to get wrong because the voyage is quick and the paperwork is done in a hurry:
CBP also requires a separate bill of lading for each shipper-consignee relationship. River consolidators that combine small shipments under one bill to save paperwork are creating exactly the kind of record CBP flags.
Most river cargo heads south. On the export side, the Census Bureau’s Foreign Trade Regulations require Electronic Export Information when a Schedule B line is worth more than $2,500 or a license is needed. For vessel cargo the EEI must be filed 24 hours before loading on the vessel at the U.S. port, and the ITN, the proof of filing, must reach the carrier, who annotates it on the outbound manifest.
River cargo is often built from many small consignments. Each one needs its own EEI decision, which makes a booking process that flags Schedule B values and missing ITNs before the vessel loads especially useful.
| Area | What to check | Official reference |
|---|---|---|
| Inbound manifest | Data to CBP 24 hours before loading at the foreign port; precise descriptions; smallest packaging unit | CBP cargo vessel manifest guidance |
| House bills | Self-filing NVOCCs held to the same standard; separate bill for each shipper-consignee pair | CBP cargo vessel manifest guidance |
| Export filing | EEI over $2,500 per Schedule B line or when licensed; filed 24 hours before loading | Census FTR, 15 CFR Part 30 |
| Proof of filing | ITN received before loading and annotated on the outbound manifest | Census FTR quick guide |
| Records | Export documentation kept for five years from the date of export | Census FTR quick guide |
| River conditions | Channel depth, bridge projects, manatee rules | Miami River Commission |
Small river carriers often run lean offices where the same people quote, book, issue bills of lading, file with Customs and invoice. That is exactly where retyping creeps in, and where a mistake on a house bill becomes a hold.
GDZ Computer Services is based in Palmetto Bay, and GDZ-ISIS was built for operations out of the Miami River, PortMiami and Port Everglades. It handles bookings, LCL dock receipts, bills of lading, ACE manifest filing and accounting from the same data, with support in English and Spanish. To see it with your own river lanes, schedule a demo.
According to the Miami River Commission, the federally authorized channel depth is 15 feet at mean low water. The channel is 150 feet wide at the mouth and narrows to 90 feet above the NW 27th Avenue bridge.
Yes. The CBP manifest rules, including transmitting cargo data 24 hours before loading at the foreign port, apply to ocean cargo coming into the United States regardless of which terminal it uses. Export filing rules under the Foreign Trade Regulations apply the same way.
The Miami River Commission’s 2025 annual report says the river’s international shipping terminals provide trade to neighbors in the Caribbean and Central America.
CBP states that NVOCCs who self-file house bills are held to the same standard as vessel operating carriers and are expected to screen their data for compliance.
It was created by the Florida Legislature in 1998 as the official coordinating clearinghouse for public policy and projects related to the Miami River. Its board includes marine industry representatives.