{"id":541,"date":"2016-10-12T14:29:15","date_gmt":"2016-10-12T19:29:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awlcorp.com\/?p=541"},"modified":"2016-10-12T14:29:15","modified_gmt":"2016-10-12T19:29:15","slug":"georgias-ports-now-fully-operational","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/awlcorp.com\/?p=541","title":{"rendered":"GEORGIA\u2019S PORTS NOW FULLY OPERATIONAL"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Georgia\u2019s<\/div>\n

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Wednesday, October 12, 2016\/<\/span>Categories: Refrigerated Cargo<\/a>, Ro\/Ro Cargo<\/a>, Container Cargo<\/a>, Heavy Lift<\/a>, Reefer<\/a>, Economic Impact<\/a>, Port of Savannah<\/a>, Site Selection<\/a>, Press Release<\/a><\/p>\n

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The container ship MSC Kleven sails up river to the Port of Savannah after the Savannah River reopened following Hurricane Matthew in Savannah, Ga., Wednesday, Oct.12, 2016. Nine vessels worked at the Garden City Terminal on Wednesday. Find print quality images <\/b>here<\/b><\/a>. (Georgia Ports Authority\/Stephen B. Morton)<\/b><\/p>\n

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Savannah, Ga. \u2013 Oct. 12, 2016 \u2013<\/b> The Savannah River channel reopened for commercial traffic Wednesday morning at 7 a.m. with 11 vessels transiting the channel by mid-afternoon, nine of which will be worked at Garden City Terminal and two at Ocean Terminal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cGeorgia\u2019s ports are now fully operational which is a testament to the efforts of countless individuals to ensure our port customers experienced minimal impact,\u201d said Griff Lynch, Executive Director for the Georgia Ports Authority. \u201cWe would like to thank our many service providers, port stakeholders, first responders, GPA employees and Governor Nathan Deal\u2019s Office for working around the clock to bring the ports of Brunswick and Savannah back online so quickly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

By the end of the day, the Garden City Terminal was working nine vessels, moving nearly 800 containers per hour, with an anticipated 7,800 container moves for the day.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf all the ports affected by Hurricane Matthew, the Port of Savannah was hit the hardest,\u201d said U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Amy Beach, Marine Safety Unit Savannah Commander. \u201cI know how vital the Port of Savannah is to the nation, and fully reopening the port was my top priority.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because the full force of the storm struck Savannah\u2019s outer harbor, aids to navigation were severely compromised.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to sincerely thank Commander Amy Beach and especially Rear Admiral Scott Buschman for personally interceding to expedite the repairs necessary to restore this channel.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hundreds of GPA employees were on terminals in both Brunswick and Savannah the day after the storm restoring power, working with emergency responders and testing systems to ensure the safe return of thousands of port users.<\/p>\n

The gates at Garden City Terminal are projected to process more than 8,500 truck moves today, Wednesday, Oct. 12. That number is expected to grow throughout this week and into next week. Lynch encouraged the local trucking community to take advantage of this Saturday\u2019s regularly scheduled gate hours.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring peak season, we understand this is a critical time for port users\u2019 supply chain in the U.S. Southeast and Mid-West,\u201d said Lynch. \u201cEveryone involved did a phenomenal job bringing the port back to normal operations.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the largest single-terminal container facility in the nation and more than 9,700 feet of contiguous berthing space and 22 ship-to-shore cranes, Savannah was able to quickly recover from the storm with minimal impact to the supply chain.<\/p>\n

\u201cHurricane Matthew demonstrated the ability of our team to rise to the occasion and the incredible resiliency of our ports to efficiently handle large volumes in difficult circumstances,\u201d said Lynch.<\/p>\n

Find print-quality images of port operations <\/i>here<\/i><\/a>. Georgia\u2019s deepwater ports and inland barge terminals support more than 369,000 jobs throughout the state annually and contribute $20.4 billion in income, $84.1 billion in revenue and $2.3 billion in state and local taxes to Georgia\u2019s economy. The Port of Savannah handled 8.2 percent of the U.S. containerized cargo volume and 10.3 percent of all U.S. containerized exports in CY2015.<\/i><\/p>\n

For more information, visit gaports.com<\/a>, or contact GPA Senior Director of Corporate Communications Robert Morris at (912) 964-3855 or <\/b>rmorris@gaports.com<\/b><\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n