{"id":787,"date":"2019-02-05T08:14:06","date_gmt":"2019-02-05T13:14:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awlcorp.com\/?p=787"},"modified":"2023-05-11T18:54:18","modified_gmt":"2023-05-11T18:54:18","slug":"big-berth-big-ship-savannah-set-to-serve-six-14000-teu-vessels-simultaneously","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/awlcorp.com\/?p=787","title":{"rendered":"BIG BERTH\/BIG SHIP: SAVANNAH SET TO SERVE SIX 14,000-TEU VESSELS SIMULTANEOUSLY"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Big<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

JANUARY GPA\u2019S BUSIEST MONTH EVER; CONTAINER VOLUMES UP 28 PERCENT<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By 2024, the Port of Savannah’s Garden City Terminal will feature 37 cranes and the ability to serve six 14,000-TEU vessels at a time. <\/strong><\/em>Find print quality images here<\/a>. (Georgia Ports Authority \/ Stephen B. Morton)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SAVANNAH, Ga., <\/strong>Feb. 5, 2019 \u2013<\/strong> At the Georgia Foreign Trade Conference, Georgia Ports Authority Executive Director Griff Lynch unveiled GPA\u2019s Big Berth\/Big Ship program that will allow the Port of Savannah to simultaneously handle six 14,000 TEU vessels by 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo other single container terminal in North America has the ability to expand berth capacity at this rate,\u201d said Lynch. Currently, Savannah\u2019s Garden City Terminal is equipped to handle two of these vessels and by April of this year that number will increase to three. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During his presentation titled \u201c2019: The Triple Crown?\u201d Lynch told an audience of 350 logistics professionals that the Port of Savannah had just last week achieved the busiest month ever in its history, moving 433,975 TEUs, a whopping 28 percent jump over the previous year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA strong global economy coupled with a growing awareness of Savannah\u2019s logistical advantages are driving sustained growth at our deepwater container terminal,\u201d GPA Board Chairman Jimmy Allgood said. \u201cGPA\u2019s Big Berth\/Big Ship program will ensure Georgia stays ahead of demand and ahead of the competition.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the next five years, the Authority plans to add another 21 Neo-Panamax ship-to-shore cranes, replacing 14 of its older models to bring the total fleet to 37. Dock upgrades are already under way to support the new, larger machines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Savannah market is also seeing significant private development. Over the past 24 months, private investors have added 9 million square feet, to bring Savannah\u2019s total industrial real estate market to 60.6 million square feet. The rate of construction has since accelerated, with another 9.2 million square feet of industrial space now under construction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Savannah market outpaces its peer group for warehouse demand. One of Savannah\u2019s strong suits is that within a 30-mile radius from Gate 4 there is still a real deep inventory of industrial sites and parks that have very effective access to and from Garden City Terminal,\u201d said Blaine Kelley, senior vice president in the global supply chain practice of industrial real estate firm CBRE. \u201cNot surprisingly, it really all starts with the ports infrastructure, the access to global markets, the capacity for long-term growth, and the proximity to the immediate and regional customer base.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelley took part on a GFTC panel titled, \u201cWhat Are the Key Challenges to Site Selection Today?\u201d, along with Chris Schwinden, vice president of Site Selection Group and Alan Erera, professor of Supply Chain Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allgood added that regardless of the volumes the ports handle month to month, the Authority remains true to its plan to have the long-term interests of customers in mind. \u201cOur beacon is our customers\u2019 needs,\u201d Allgood said. \u201cAs long as we always keep that first, we\u2019re going to do well.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the ship-to-shore cranes GPA is adding, a dozen new rubber-tired gantry cranes will bring the number Garden City Terminal\u2019s container handling cranes to 158. Ten RTGs will be commissioned in July, another two in September. Phase I of the Mason Mega Rail project will be complete in October 2019. Full completion a year later will double the Port of Savannah\u2019s rail lift capacity to 1 million containers per year. In late 2021, the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project is slated for completion, delivering the deeper water necessary to better accommodate the larger vessels now calling on the U.S. East Coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese advancements are necessary to handle tremendous customer demand at our terminals,\u201d Lynch said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schwinden said GPA\u2019s continuous investment aids economic development in Georgia. \u201cThe most competitive states and communities are making strategic, proactive investments in transportation infrastructure to ensure they can stay ahead of ever-accelerating corporate and consumer demand,\u201d said Schwinden, who specializes in industrial location and economic development. \u201cIn Site Selection Group\u2019s view, Georgia is one of those competitive states that is making those critical investments in transportation infrastructure.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find print-quality images of port operations here<\/a>. Georgia\u2019s deepwater ports and inland barge terminals support more than 439,000 jobs throughout the state annually and contribute $25 billion in income, $106 billion in revenue and $2.9 billion in state and local taxes to Georgia\u2019s economy. The Port of Savannah handled 8.5 percent of U.S. containerized cargo volume and 10 percent of all U.S. containerized exports in FY2017.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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